Key result
Ultrasound scans performed by a trained surgery resident showed moderate to perfect agreement (kappa 0.53-1.0) with a radiology resident for diagnosing causes of abdominal pain.
Why the study?
Does ultrasound training for a surgical resident result in comparable diagnostic accuracy to a radiology resident in patients with abdominal pain?
Observational (n=238)
Does ultrasound training for a surgical resident result in comparable diagnostic accuracy to a radiology resident in patients with abdominal pain?
Ultrasound training for surgical residents is feasible and yields diagnostic results comparable to radiology residents for common abdominal pathologies.
Supports surgical resident ultrasound training for abdominal pain; leaves open effects on management, referrals, and outcomes.
Purpose: Ultrasound training for the surgical residents is not a common practice in India. This study was undertaken to prepare a working model for surgical trainees and assess its effectiveness by training a single surgical resident. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study of 238 patients with pain abdomen. Training was given in abdominal ultrasound for a period of 2 months. Ultrasound scans were performed independently by a radiology resident and surgery resident. Inter-rater agreement between both residents was assessed using Kappa coefficient. Ultrasound results were compared with clinical diagnosis and final diagnosis. Results: The kappa agreement was 0.53, 0.56, 0.8 and 1 for urolithiasis, appendicitis, pancreatitis and urinary tract infection, respectively. Almost all cases of cholelithiasis were identified by the surgery resident. There was improvement of 21%, 31% and 100% in patients of urolithiasis, acute appendicitis and liver abscess, respectively, in the second 10 months of the study. Conclusions: Ultrasound scans can be performed by a surgery resident with similar results as that of a radiology resident. Training of the surgery resident is possible with satisfactory results.
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Sridhara et al. (2014) conducted an observational in Abdominal pain (n=238). Ultrasound performed by a surgery resident vs. Ultrasound performed by a radiology resident was evaluated on Inter-rater agreement (Kappa coefficient). Ultrasound scans performed by a trained surgery resident showed moderate to perfect agreement (kappa 0.53-1.0) with a radiology resident for diagnosing causes of abdominal pain.
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