The Effects of Point-of-care Ultrasonography

The Effects of Point-of-care Ultrasonography on the Dıagnosıs Process of Patıents Who Admıtted to Emergency Department: Randomised-Controlled Trial

Background: When used with standard diagnostic testing, point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) might improve the proportion of patients admitted with chest pain (CP) who are correctly diagnosed, decrease length of stay (LOS) in emergency department (ED) and costs. We therefore assessed POCUS for the heart, lungs, aortic, hepatobiliary and deep vein in addition to the usual initial diagnostic testing in this patient population.

Methods: In a prospective, randomised-controlled, parallel-group trial in the ED at Sakarya University Training and Research Hospital, Turkey, patients (≥18 years) with CP were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to a standard diagnostic strategy (control group) or to standard diagnostic strategy supplemented with POCUS (POCUS group).

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients admitted to the emergency were included in this study if they had chest pain, or chest pain with back pain, neck and jaw pain, abdominal pain, arm pain and shortness of breath

Exclusion Criteria:

• permanent mental disability
• age younger than 18 years
• having chest trauma in the last 24 hours
• to be pregnant
• need for urgent angiography with ST elevation myocardial infarction
• to be referred to the ED as a diagnosis of external center
• failure to obtain complete patient information