Key result
Diagnostic point-of-care ultrasound by hospitalists shows moderate to excellent diagnostic accuracy after brief training, though experimental evidence for clinical use is limited to cardiac ultrasound.
Point-of-care ultrasound has moderate to excellent diagnostic accuracy when used by hospitalists after brief training, though robust experimental evidence for its clinical impact remains limited primarily to cardiac applications.
Accuracy supports cautious cardiac POCUS use by hospitalists; leaves open RCTs on clinical outcomes and non-cardiac applications.
We review the literature on diagnostic point-of-care ultrasound applications most relevant to hospital medicine and highlight gaps in the evidence base. Diagnostic point-of-care applications most relevant to hospitalists include cardiac ultrasound for left ventricular systolic function, pericardial effusion, and severe mitral regurgitation; lung ultrasound for pneumonia, pleural effusion, pneumothorax, and pulmonary edema; abdominal ultrasound for ascites, aortic aneurysm, and hydronephrosis; and venous ultrasound for central venous volume assessment and lower extremity deep venous thrombosis. Hospitalists and other frontline providers, as well as physician trainees at various levels of training, have moderate to excellent diagnostic accuracy after brief training programs for most of these applications. Despite the evidence supporting the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound, experimental evidence supporting its clinical use by hospitalists is limited to cardiac ultrasound.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Soni et al. (2014) conducted a review in Hospital medicine. Diagnostic point-of-care ultrasound was evaluated. Diagnostic point-of-care ultrasound by hospitalists shows moderate to excellent diagnostic accuracy after brief training, though experimental evidence for clinical use is limited to cardiac ultrasound.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: