Point of Care Ultrasound in Geriatric Patients: Prospective Evaluation of a Portable Handheld Ultrasound Device.

Fröhlich, Eckhart; Beller, Katharina; Muller, Reinhold; Herrmann, Maria; Debove, Ines; Klinger, Christoph; Pauluschke-Fröhlich, Jan; Hoffmann, Tatjana; Kreppenhofer, Sorina; Dietrich, Christoph F (2020). Point of Care Ultrasound in Geriatric Patients: Prospective Evaluation of a Portable Handheld Ultrasound Device. Ultraschall in der Medizin, 41(3), pp. 308-316. Thieme 10.1055/a-0889-8070

[img] Text
Froehlich, 2019, Point of Care Ultrasound.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (319kB) | Request a copy

PURPOSE

The aim of the current study was to evaluate point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in geriatric patients by echoscopy using a handheld ultrasound device (HHUSD, VScan) at bedside in comparison to a high-end ultrasound system (HEUS) as the gold standard.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Prospective observational study with a total of 112 geriatric patients. The ultrasound examinations were independently performed by two experienced blinded examiners with a portable handheld device and a high-end ultrasound device. The findings were compared with respect to diagnostic findings and therapeutic implications.

RESULTS

The main indications for the ultrasound examinations were dyspnea (44.6 %), fall (frailty) (24.1 %) and fever (21.4 %). The most frequently found diagnoses were cystic lesions 32.1 % (35/109), hepatic vein congestion 19.3 % (21/109) and ascites 13.6 % (15/110). HHUSD delivered 13 false-negative findings in the abdomen resulting in an "overall sensitivity" of 89.5 %. The respective "overall specificity" was 99.6 % (7 false-positive diagnoses). HHUSD (versus HEUS data) resulted in 13.6 % (17.3 %) diagnostically relevant procedures in the abdomen and 0.9 % (0.9 %) in the thorax. Without HHUSD (HEUS) 95.7 % (100 %) of important pathological findings would have been missed.

CONCLUSION

The small HHUSD tool improves clinical decision-making in immobile geriatric patients at the point of care (geriatric ward). In most cases, HHUSD allows sufficiently accurate yes/no diagnoses already at the bedside, thereby clarifying the leading symptoms for early clinical decision-making.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > Department of Head Organs and Neurology (DKNS) > Clinic of Neurology

UniBE Contributor:

Debove, Ines

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

0172-4614

Publisher:

Thieme

Language:

English

Submitter:

Chantal Kottler

Date Deposited:

27 Nov 2019 08:51

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:32

Publisher DOI:

10.1055/a-0889-8070

PubMed ID:

31026863

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.135510

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/135510

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback