Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy of ultra-miniaturized pocket ultrasound device on cardiac function in critically ill patients / 解放军医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of a new ultra-miniaturized pocket ultrasound device (PUD) (Vscan™, GE Healthcare, Wauwatosa, WI) and conventional high-quality echocardiography system (Vivid q™, GE Healthcare) for a cardiac focused ultrasonography in critical patients. Methods: The patients admitted to our hospital and receiving transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) using a PUD and a conventional echocardiography system were included in this study during the 10 months from December 2013 to October 2014. Each examination was performed independently by an intensive care unit (ICU) physician and an experienced ultrasound doctor, unaware of the results found by the alternative device. The following parameters were assessed global cardiac systolic function, identification of ventricular size, whether or not accompanying enlargement or hypertrophy, assessment for the morphology of cardiac valves and its function, pericardial effusion and estimation of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameter. The time-consuming of each device were recorded. Results: One hundred and twenty-eight patients were included in the study. Their left ventricular wall motion abnormalities, global left ventricular systolic dysfunction, pericardial effusion, IVC dilation were assessed by PUD and the assessment results were highly consistent with those by Vivid q (κ>0.84). The consistency was slightly lower in evaluating the left and right ventricular size. For evaluating the cardiac valves function, the agreement of two devices were relatively low (κ=0.69-0.84). Compared with Vivid q, PUD took less time (4.7± 1.4min vs 6.3± 2.6min; P<0.05). Conclusion: PUD can provide fast, reliable cardiac examination, thus being an effective method for ICU physicians to assess the cardiac function in critical patients.