Summary
This journal article focuses on the diagnosis of intussusception (INT), a common cause of bowel obstruction in young children. The study aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) performed by novice sonographer pediatric emergency medicine physicians (PEM-Ps) who received training to diagnose INT.
In a prospective observational study, 17 PEM-Ps (including 14 attendings and 3 fellows) were trained to use abdominal ultrasound for diagnosing INT. POCUS was performed and interpreted by a PEM-P, followed by a formal ultrasound study performed by a certified ultrasonographer and interpreted by an attending pediatric radiologist. The study assessed the diagnostic agreement between the POCUS and radiology-performed ultrasound (RPUS) results.
The study included 100 patients with a median age of 24 months. The results showed excellent diagnostic agreement between PEM-Ps and RPUS, with 97% concordance. The sensitivity of POCUS for diagnosing INT was 89%, and the specificity was 98%. The positive predictive value was 80%, and the negative predictive value was 99%. The likelihood ratio for INT with a positive POCUS was 40.44, and with a negative POCUS was 0.11.
In conclusion, POCUS performed by novice sonographers for diagnosing INT demonstrated high diagnostic concordance with RPUS. The study suggests that POCUS is a rapid and accurate method for diagnosing INT in the emergency department, which can potentially lead to earlier diagnosis and better outcomes for young children with this condition.
