Point-of-Care Ultrasonography in the Diagnosis of Retinal Detachment, Vitreous Hemorrhage, and Vitreous Detachment in the Emergency Department.

Importance: Ocular symptoms represent approximately 2% to 3% of all emergency department (ED) visits. These disease processes may progress to permanent vision loss if not diagnosed and treated quickly. Use of ocular point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) may be effective for early and accurate detection of ocular disease. Objective: To perform a large-scale, multicenter study to determine the utility of POCUS for diagnosing retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and vitreous detachment in the ED. Design, Setting, and Participants: A prospective diagnostic study was conducted at 2 academic EDs and 2 county hospital EDs from February 3, 2016, to April 30, 2018. Patients who were eligible for inclusion were older than 18 years; were English- or Spanish-speaking; presented to the ED with ocular symptoms with concern for retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, or vitreous detachment; and underwent an ophthalmologic consultation that included POCUS. Patients with ocular trauma or suspicion for globe rupture were excluded. The accuracy of the ultrasonographic diagnosis was compared with the criterion standard of the final diagnosis of an ophthalmologist who was masked to the POCUS findings. Seventy-five unique emergency medicine attending physicians, resident physicians, and physician assistants performed ocular ultrasonography. Exposure: Point-of-care ultrasonography performed by an emergency medicine attending physician, resident physician, or physician assistant. Main Outcomes and Measures: Sensitivity and specificity of POCUS in identifying retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and vitreous detachment in patients presenting to the ED with ocular symptoms. Results: Two hundred twenty-five patients were enrolled. Of these, the mean age was 51 years (range, 18-91 years) and 135 (60.0%) were men; ophthalmologists diagnosed 47 (20.8%) with retinal detachment, 54 (24.0%) with vitreous hemorrhage, and 34 (15.1%) with vitreous detachment. Point-of-care ultrasonography had an overall sensitivity of 96.9% (95% CI, 80.6%-99.6%) and specificity of 88.1% (95% CI, 81.8%-92.4%) for diagnosis of retinal detachment. For diagnosis of vitreous hemorrhage, the sensitivity of POCUS was 81.9% (95% CI, 63.0%-92.4%) and specificity was 82.3% (95% CI, 75.4%-87.5%). For vitreous detachment, the sensitivity was 42.5% (95% CI, 24.7%-62.4%) and specificity was 96.0% (95% CI, 91.2%-98.2%). Conclusions and Relevance: These findings suggest that emergency medicine practitioners can use POCUS to accurately identify retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, and vitreous detachment. Point-of-care ultrasonography is not intended to replace the role of the ophthalmologist for definitive diagnosis of these conditions, but it may serve as an adjunct to help emergency medicine practitioners improve care for patients with ocular symptoms.

Web-based teaching in point-of-care ultrasound: an alternative to the classroom?

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate two educational methods for point-of-care ultrasound (POC US) in order to: 1) determine participant test performance and attitudes in using POC US and 2) compare cost and preparation time to run the courses. METHODS: This was a pilot study conducted at a county teaching hospital. Subjects were assigned to participate in either a large group course with live classroom lectures (Group A) or a group asked to watch 4.5 hours of online prerecorded lectures (Group B). Both groups participated in small-group hands-on training after watching the lectures. Both groups took a pre- and post-course exam, and completed course surveys. Cost and time spent running the courses were also compared. RESULTS: Forty-seven physicians participated in the study. The pre-test and post-test scores between the two groups did not differ significantly. Of those with prior ultrasound experience, the majority of both groups preferred to continue classroom-based teaching for future courses. Interestingly, in the groups who had no ultrasound experience prior to their course participation, there was a higher percentage who preferred web-based teaching. Lastly, Group B was shown to have the potential to take less preparatory time when compared to Group A. CONCLUSION: A web-based curriculum in POC US appears to be a promising and potentially time saving alternative to live classroom lectures and seems to offer similar educational benefits for the postgraduate learner.

Isolated, spontaneous superior mesenteric and celiac artery dissection: case report and review of literature.

Spontaneous, isolated dissection of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and celiac artery (CA) is rare. Although there are known risk factors, there is no particular mechanism that is common to vascular dissections. The objectives of this study were to review the current literature on diagnosis and treatment of isolated SMA and CA dissection, and to review aortic complications in giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, and polyarteritis nodosa. Giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, and polyarterteritis nodosa are vasculitides that are associated with SMA and CA dissection. An interesting aspect of this case is that the patient was a healthy person before presentation, and ultimately, did not have an underlying etiology to explain the dissection. In addition, the patient was successfully managed without operative intervention. Although there are known risk factors in patients who present with isolated, spontaneous SMA and CA dissection, the pathogenesis is still unclear. The prognosis has improved significantly with the early use of computed tomography angiography to diagnosis this entity. Although most cases require surgical intervention, there are some, as in this case, that are managed non-operatively.