What question did this study set out to answer?

To evaluate the effectiveness of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in diagnosing dyspnoea in emergency presentations.

March 21, 2026

Point-of-care ultrasound in emergency presentations of dyspnoea: some light from the darkness

Key Points

To evaluate the effectiveness of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in diagnosing dyspnoea in emergency presentations.
Literature review of POCUS applications in dyspnoea cases
Identification of key conditions diagnosed with POCUS
Assessment of diagnostic speed and accuracy compared to traditional methods
POCUS provides real-time diagnostics for conditions like pleural effusions and cardiac dysfunction
Associated with faster decision-making in emergency settings
Demonstrates potential for improving patient management outcomes, though robust evidence is still needed

Abstract

Extract Acute presentations of dyspnoea represent a challenging and frequently encountered complaint in the emergency department (ED), representing 5–12% of all presentations and resulting from a wide range of cardiopulmonary, metabolic and systemic aetiologies 1. In the context of increasing demands on healthcare systems, achieving rapid diagnostics in this cohort of patients is paramount in order to facilitate timely treatment and triage to inpatient admission, ambulatory management or discharge. Traditional diagnostic pathways to investigate dyspnoea consist of clinical assessment, blood tests, chest radiographs and cross-sectional imaging, which may be subject to delays due to processing or reporting, and necessitate exposure to ionising radiation. Over the past decade, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), particularly focused cardiac and lung/pleural ultrasound, has emerged as a compelling adjunct in this setting, providing clinicians with the ability to undertake dynamic testing that can be interpreted in real time. POCUS has been associated with faster diagnostic decisions and has demonstrated accuracy in identifying conditions such as pleural effusions, interstitial syndrome, cardiac dysfunction and pulmonary embolism 2–5. Despite initial positive results and increasing integration into emergency medicine practice 6, robust evidence demonstrating that POCUS translates into improved patient-centred outcomes has been limited to date.

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