Adrian Wong, Olusegun Olusanya, Jim Watchorn, Kate Bramham, Sam Hutchings
{"title":"Utility of the Venous Excess Ultrasound (VEXUS) score to track dynamic change in volume status in patients undergoing fluid removal during haemodialysis - the ACUVEX study.","authors":"Adrian Wong, Olusegun Olusanya, Jim Watchorn, Kate Bramham, Sam Hutchings","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00370-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00370-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The use of ultrasound assessment, including the Venous Excess Ultrasound (VEXUS) score, is increasingly being utilised as part of fluid status assessment in clinical practice. We aimed to evaluate the ability of the VEXUS score to track fluid removal during the course of the dialysis session and explore the relationship between traditional measures of fluid status and venous congestion.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Single-centre, observational study in patients undergoing intermittent haemodialysis, who presented above their target dry weight. Patients had serial assessment using VEXUS, lung ultrasound and selected echocardiographic measures, before, during and after fluid removal.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Amongst 33 patients analysed, 5 (15%) had an elevated VEXUS score (> 0). There was no difference in starting weight, dry weight or amount of fluid removed in patients with a normal VEXUS score and those with an elevated VEXUS score. In all patients with elevated VEXUS scores, the degree of venous congestion improved during the course of fluid removal. All patients with an elevated VEXUS score had evidence of both right and left ventricular systolic impairment.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In patients with ESRF undergoing haemodialysis, the incidence of venous congestion as measured by the VEXUS is low. In patients with elevated VEXUS scores, removal of fluid through haemodialysis improves the venous congestion score. The pattern of LV and RV systolic dysfunction suggests that VEXUS may be a reflection of cardiac failure rather than venous volume status.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Ethical approval was provided by South Central-Berkshire Research and Ethics Committee and registered on clinicaltrials.org (IRAS305720).</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>ISRCTN14351189 - Retrospectively registered on 30/11/2023.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10973283/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140307244","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Canadian Internal Medicine Ultrasound (CIMUS) consensus statement: recommendations for mandatory ultrasound competencies for ultrasound-guided thoracentesis, paracentesis, and central venous catheterization.","authors":"","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00363-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00363-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To develop a Canadian Internal Medicine Ultrasound (CIMUS) consensus statement on recommended mandatory point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) competencies for ultrasound-guided thoracentesis, paracentesis, and central venous catheterizations (CVC) for internal medicine physicians.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The 2022 CIMUS group consists of 27 voting members, with representations from all 17 Canadian academic institutions across 8 provinces. Members voted in 3 rounds on 46 procedural competencies as \"mandatory, must include\", \"optional, could include\" or \"superfluous, do not include\". These 46 competencies included 6 general competencies that apply to all POCUS-guided procedures, 11 competencies for thoracentesis, 10 competencies for paracentesis, and 19 competencies for CVC.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In the first round, members reached consensus on 27 competencies (5 general, 6 thoracentesis, 8 paracentesis, 8 CVC). In the second round, 10 competencies (1 general, 2 thoracentesis, 1 paracentesis, 6 CVC) reached consensus. In the third round, 2 additional competencies (1 paracentesis, 1 CVC) reached consensus for being mandatory and 3 as optional (1 thoracentesis and 2 CVC). Overall, a total of 28 competencies reached consensus as mandatory, 3 as optional, while 11 competencies reached consensus as superfluous. Four competencies did not reach consensus for either inclusion or exclusion.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The CIMUS group recommends 28 competencies be considered mandatory and 3 as optional for internal medicine physicians performing POCUS guided thoracentesis, paracentesis, and CVC placement. National curriculum development and implementation efforts should include training these mandatory competencies.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10959885/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140194773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mauro Castro-Sayat, Nicolás Colaianni-Alfonso, Luigi Vetrugno, Gustavo Olaizola, Cristian Benay, Federico Herrera, Yasmine Saá, Guillermo Montiel, Santiago Haedo, Ignacio Previgliano, Ada Toledo, Catalina Siroti
{"title":"Lung ultrasound score predicts outcomes in patients with acute respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19 treated with non-invasive respiratory support: a prospective cohort study.","authors":"Mauro Castro-Sayat, Nicolás Colaianni-Alfonso, Luigi Vetrugno, Gustavo Olaizola, Cristian Benay, Federico Herrera, Yasmine Saá, Guillermo Montiel, Santiago Haedo, Ignacio Previgliano, Ada Toledo, Catalina Siroti","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00365-6","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00365-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Lung ultrasound has demonstrated its usefulness in several respiratory diseases management. One derived score, the Lung Ultrasound (LUS) score, is considered a good outcome predictor in patients with Acute Respiratory Failure (ARF). Nevertheless, it has not been tested in patients undergoing non-invasive respiratory support (NIRS). Taking this into account, the aim of this study is to evaluate LUS score as a predictor of 90-day mortality, ETI (Endotracheal intubation) and HFNC (High Flow Nasal Cannula) failure in patients with ARF due to COVID-19 admitted to a Respiratory Intermediate Care Unit (RICU) for NIRS management.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred one patients were admitted to the RICU during the study period. Among these 76% were males and the median age was 55 (45-64) years. Initial ARF management started with HFNC, the next step was the use of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) devices and the last intervention was ETI and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admission. Of the total study population, CPAP was required in 40%, ETI in 26%, while 15% died. By means of a ROC analysis, a LUS ≥ 25 points was identified as the cut-off point for mortality(AUC 0.81, OR 1.40, 95% CI 1.14 to 1.71; p < 0.001), ETI (AUC 0.83, OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.20 to 1.70; p < 0.001) and HFNC failure (AUC 0.75, OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.12 to 1.41; p < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival curves also identified LUS ≥ 25 as a predictor of 90-days mortality (HR 4.16, 95% CI 1.27-13.6) and 30 days ETI as well.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>In our study, a ≥ 25 point cut-off of the Lung Ultrasound Score was identified as a good outcome prediction factor for 90-days mortality, ETI and HFNC failure in a COVID-19 ARF patients cohort treated in a RICU. Considering that LUS score is easy to calculate, a multicenter study to confirm our findings should be performed.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10923765/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140060692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emily Signor, John Gerstenberger, Jennifer Cotton, Jorie Colbert-Getz, Katie Lappé
{"title":"Integrating a self-directed ultrasound curriculum for the internal medicine clerkship.","authors":"Emily Signor, John Gerstenberger, Jennifer Cotton, Jorie Colbert-Getz, Katie Lappé","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00367-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00367-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Incorporating ultrasound into the clinical curriculum of undergraduate medical education has been limited by a need for faculty support. Without integration into the clinical learning environment, ultrasound skills become a stand-alone skill and may decline by the time of matriculation into residency. A less time intensive ultrasound curriculum is needed to preserve skills acquired in preclinical years. We aimed to create a self-directed ultrasound curriculum to support and assess students' ability to acquire ultrasound images and to utilize ultrasound to inform clinical decision-making.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Third year students completed the self-directed ultrasound curriculum during their required internal medicine clerkship. Students used Butterfly iQ+ portable ultrasound probes. The curriculum included online modules that focused on clinical application of ultrasound as well as image acquisition technique. Students were graded on image acquisition quality and setting, a patient write-up focused on clinical decision-making, and a multiple-choice quiz. Student feedback was gathered with an end-of-course survey. Faculty time was tracked.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred and ten students participated. Students averaged 1.79 (scale 0-2; SD = 0.21) on image acquisition, 78% (SD = 15%) on the quiz, and all students passed the patient write-up. Most reported the curriculum improved their clinical reasoning (72%), learning of pathophysiology (69%), and patient care (55%). Faculty time to create the curriculum was approximately 45 h. Faculty time to grade student assignments was 38.5 h per year.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Students were able to demonstrate adequate image acquisition, use of ultrasound to aid in clinical decision-making, and interpretation of ultrasound pathology with no in-person faculty instruction. Additionally, students reported improved learning of pathophysiology, clinical reasoning, and rapport with patients. The self-directed curriculum required less faculty time than prior descriptions of ultrasound curricula in the clinical years and could be considered at institutions that have limited faculty support.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10914648/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140040573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tom Heller, Veronica Phiri, Tapiwa Kumwenda, Wongani Mzumara, Michael Jeffrey Vinikoor, Ethel Rambiki, Claudia Wallrauch
{"title":"Point-of-care ultrasound to inform antiviral treatment initiation in chronic hepatitis B virus infection in low-resource settings - the PUSH protocol.","authors":"Tom Heller, Veronica Phiri, Tapiwa Kumwenda, Wongani Mzumara, Michael Jeffrey Vinikoor, Ethel Rambiki, Claudia Wallrauch","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00369-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00369-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) is prevalent worldwide and most related deaths occur in low-resource settings. Antiviral treatment of CHB is indicated in those with significant liver disease and markers of viral replication. However, recommended diagnostics such as elastography (a non-invasive imaging measure of fibrosis/cirrhosis) or HBV viral load are often lacking in these settings, which creates barriers to treatment. Point-of-care clinical B-mode ultrasound (US) has potential to overcome implementation barriers in HBV care programs in low-resource settings.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We describe a Point-of-care US protocol for Hepatitis (\"PUSH\") to check for signs of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the liver of people with CHB. We performed a prospective observational study applying the protocol, first by trainee clinicians and then by trainers, in consecutive patients referred to our clinic for CHB treatment eligibility assessment. All patients additionally underwent physical examination, liver function tests (LFTs) and platelet counts. We describe the PUSH training approach and performance of the protocol.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four clinicians and 111 adult patients with HBV infection were included in the development of PUSH. Using US, liver complications of HBV were documented in 31 (27.9%) patients; including cirrhosis in 15 patients, HCC with cirrhosis in 13, and HCC without cirrhosis in 3. Patients with sonographic findings had significantly more clinical symptoms also their LFTs were higher and more frequently indicative for HBV treatment. Of 28 patients with sonographic diagnosis of cirrhosis, 23 (82.1%) showed a nodular liver surface, 24 (85.7%) a coarse echotexture, 20 (71.4%) scarce vessels, and 9 (32.1%) an enlarged caudate lobe. Overall concordance of the findings between assessment of trainees and experienced sonographers was high, ranging from 90 to 95%; trainees were not blinded to clinical and laboratory findings.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Ultrasound can facilitate same-day initiation of antiviral therapy for chronic HBV monoinfection in a resource-limited setting and a streamlined protocol-driven liver ultrasound can be feasibly used by front line clinicians managing HBV.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10912069/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140022824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eleni Xourgia, Apostolos Koronaios, Anastasia Kotanidou, Ilias I Siempos, Christina Routsi
{"title":"Right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain during weaning from mechanical ventilation using high-flow or conventional oxygen treatment: a pilot study.","authors":"Eleni Xourgia, Apostolos Koronaios, Anastasia Kotanidou, Ilias I Siempos, Christina Routsi","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00358-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00358-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10899142/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139973845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ross Prager, Derek Wu, Gary Garber, P J Finestone, Cathy Zang, Rana Aslanova, Robert Arntfield
{"title":"Medico-legal risks of point-of-care ultrasound: a closed-case analysis of Canadian Medical Protective Association medico-legal cases.","authors":"Ross Prager, Derek Wu, Gary Garber, P J Finestone, Cathy Zang, Rana Aslanova, Robert Arntfield","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00364-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00364-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become a core diagnostic tool for many physicians due to its portability, excellent safety profile, and diagnostic utility. Despite its growing use, the potential risks of POCUS use should be considered by providers. We analyzed the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) repository to identify medico-legal cases arising from the use of POCUS.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively searched the CMPA closed-case repository for cases involving diagnostic POCUS between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2021. Cases included civil-legal actions, medical regulatory authority (College) cases, and hospital complaints. Patient and physician demographics, outcomes, reason for complaint, and expert-identified contributing factors were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From 2012 to 2021, there were 58,626 closed medico-legal cases in the CMPA repository with POCUS determined to be a contributing factor for medico-legal action in 15 cases; in all cases the medico-legal outcome was decided against the physicians. The most common reasons for patient complaints were diagnostic error, deficient assessment, and failure to perform a test or intervention. Expert analysis of these cases determined the most common contributing factors for medico-legal action was failure to perform POCUS when indicated (7 cases, 47%); however, medico-legal action also resulted from diagnostic error, incorrect sonographic approach, deficient assessment, inadequate skill, inadequate documentation, or inadequate reporting.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although the most common reason associated with the medico-legal action in these cases is failure to perform POCUS when indicated, inappropriate use of POCUS may lead to medico-legal action. Due to limitations in granularity of data, the exact number of civil-legal, College cases, and hospital complaints for each contributing factor is unavailable. To enhance patient care and mitigate risk for providers, POCUS should be carefully integrated with other clinical information, performed by providers with adequate skill, and carefully documented.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10891006/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139940863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mathilde Gaudreau-Simard, Tana Saiyin, Matthew D F Mcinnes, Sydney Ruller, Edward G Clark, Krista Wooller, Elaine Kilabuk, Alan J Forster, Michael Y Woo
{"title":"Test characteristics of point-of-care ultrasonography in patients with acute kidney injury.","authors":"Mathilde Gaudreau-Simard, Tana Saiyin, Matthew D F Mcinnes, Sydney Ruller, Edward G Clark, Krista Wooller, Elaine Kilabuk, Alan J Forster, Michael Y Woo","doi":"10.1186/s13089-023-00352-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-023-00352-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Acute kidney injury is a common disorder that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) is an imaging modality performed at the bedside and is used to assess for obstructive causes of acute kidney injury. Little is known about the test characteristics of PoCUS in patients with acute kidney injury.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Our primary objective was to describe the test characteristics of PoCUS for the detection of hydronephrosis in patients presenting with acute kidney injury at our centre. Our secondary objective was to describe the current rate of use of PoCUS for this indication.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 7873 patients were identified between June 1, 2019 and April 30, 2021, with 4611 meeting inclusion criteria. Of these, 94 patients (2%) underwent PoCUS, and 65 patients underwent both PoCUS and reference standard, for a total of 124 kidneys included in our diagnostic accuracy analysis. The prevalence of hydronephrosis in our cohort was 33% (95% CI 25-41%). PoCUS had a sensitivity of 85% (95% CI 71-94%) and specificity of 78% (95% CI 68-87%) for the detection of hydronephrosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We describe the test characteristics of PoCUS for the detection of hydronephrosis in a cohort of patients with acute kidney injury. The low uptake of this test presents an opportunity for quality improvement work to increase its use for this indication.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10884383/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139933334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Omar Albaroudi, Bilal Albaroudi, Mahmoud Haddad, Manar E Abdle-Rahman, Thirumoothy Samy Suresh Kumar, Robert David Jarman, Tim Harris
{"title":"Can absence of cardiac activity on point-of-care echocardiography predict death in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest? A systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Omar Albaroudi, Bilal Albaroudi, Mahmoud Haddad, Manar E Abdle-Rahman, Thirumoothy Samy Suresh Kumar, Robert David Jarman, Tim Harris","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00360-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00360-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the accuracy of the absence of cardiac motion on point-of-care echocardiography (PCE) in predicting termination of resuscitation (TOR), short-term death (STD), and long-term death (LTD), in adult patients with cardiac arrest of all etiologies in out-of-hospital and emergency department setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted based on PRISMA guidelines. A literature search in Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, WHO registry, and ClinicalTrials.gov was performed from inspection to August 2022. Risk of bias was evaluated using QUADAS-2 tool. Meta-analysis was divided into medical cardiac arrest (MCA) and traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using bivariate random-effects, and heterogeneity was analyzed using I<sup>2</sup> statistic.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 27 studies (3657 patients) were included in systematic review. There was a substantial variation in methodologies across the studies, with notable difference in inclusion criteria, PCE timing, and cardiac activity definition. In MCA (15 studies, 2239 patients), the absence of cardiac activity on PCE had a sensitivity of 72% [95% CI 62-80%] and specificity of 80% [95% CI 58-92%] to predict LTD. Although the low numbers of studies in TCA preluded meta-analysis, all patients who lacked cardiac activity on PCE eventually died.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The absence of cardiac motion on PCE for MCA predicts higher likelihood of death but does not have sufficient accuracy to be used as a stand-alone tool to terminate resuscitation. In TCA, the absence of cardiac activity is associated with 100% mortality rate, but low number of patients requires further studies to validate this finding. Future work would benefit from a standardized protocol for PCE timing and agreement on cardiac activity definition.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10879065/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139906626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}