Usefulness of Multi-Organ Point-of-Care Ultrasound as a Complement to the Decision-Making Process in Internal Medicine.
J Clin Med
; 11(8)2022 Apr 18.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1809957
ABSTRACT
Accumulated data show the utility of diagnostic multi-organ point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) in the assessment of patients admitted to an internal medicine ward. We assessed whether multi-organ PoCUS (lung, cardiac, and abdomen) provides relevant diagnostic and/or therapeutic information in patients admitted for any reason to an internal medicine ward. We conducted a prospective, observational, and single-center study, at a secondary hospital. Multi-organ PoCUS was performed during the first 24 h of admission. The sonographer had access to the patients' medical history, physical examination, and basic complementary tests performed in the Emergency Department (laboratory, X-ray, electrocardiogram). We considered a relevant ultrasound finding if it implied a significant diagnostic and/or therapeutic change. In the second semester of 2019, we enrolled 310 patients, 48.7% were male and the mean age was 70.5 years. Relevant ultrasound findings were detected in 86 patients (27.7%) and in 60 (19.3%) triggered a therapeutic change. These findings were associated with an older age (Mantel-Haenszel χ2 = 25.6; p < 0.001) and higher degree of dependency (Mantel-Haenszel χ2 = 5.7; p = 0.017). Multi-organ PoCUS provides relevant diagnostic information, complementing traditional physical examination, and facilitates therapy adjustment, regardless of the cause of admission. Multi-organ PoCUS to be useful need to be systematically integrated into the decision-making process in internal medicine.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Reviews
Language:
English
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jcm11082256
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