Impact of Surgeon-Performed Ultrasound on Diagnosis of Abdominal Pain
Author Information
Author(s): Lindelius A, Törngren S, Sondén A, Pettersson H, Adami J
Primary Institution: Karolinska Institutet
Hypothesis
Does surgeon-performed ultrasound improve the diagnostic accuracy for patients with abdominal pain in the emergency department?
Conclusion
Surgeons using ultrasound as a diagnostic complement to standard examination achieve higher diagnostic accuracy for patients with acute abdominal pain.
Supporting Evidence
- Diagnostic accuracy was significantly higher in the group examined with ultrasound (64.7% vs 56.8%).
- Ultrasound helped in making or confirming a correct diagnosis in 24.1% of cases.
- Ultrasound was misleading in 10.2% of cases.
Takeaway
When doctors use ultrasound to check for problems in the belly, they can find out what's wrong more often than if they just do a regular check-up.
Methodology
800 patients with abdominal pain were randomized to receive either surgeon-performed ultrasound or standard examination, and the accuracy of preliminary diagnoses was compared to final diagnoses made by a senior surgeon.
Limitations
The study design did not validate ultrasound examinations with those performed by a radiologist.
Participant Demographics
Patients aged 18 years and older with abdominal pain; 40.8% male and 59.2% female.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.027
Confidence Interval
95% CI 0.01 to 0.15
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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