Journal
ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY-A JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR ULTRASOUND AND ALLIED TECHNIQUES
Volume 23, Issue 6, Pages 439-446Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-8175.2006.00240.x
Keywords
hand-carried ultrasound; echocardiography; internists; primary care; physical examination
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Background: Small, hand-carried ultrasound devices have become widely available, making point-of-care echocardiograms (echos) accessible to all medical personnel as a means to augment and improve the increasingly inefficient physical examination. This study was designed to determine the clinical utility of hand-carried echo by medical residents in clinical decision making. Methods: Nine residents underwent brief, practical echo training to perform and interpret a limited hand-carried echo as an integral component of their office examination. The residents' hand-carried echo consisting of four basic views to define left ventricular (LV) function and wall thickness, valvular disease, and any pericardial effusions was compared to one performed by a level III echocardiographer. Results: Seventy-two consecutive medical clinic patients were enrolled with an average image acquisition time of 4.45 minutes. Residents obtained diagnostic images in 94% of the cases and interpreted them correctly 93% of the time. They correctly identified 92% of the major echo findings and 78% of the minor findings. Their diagnosis of LV dysfunction, valvular disease, and LV hypertrophy improved by 19%, 39%, and 14% with hand-carried echo compared to history and physical alone. Management decisions were reinforced in 76% and changed in 40% of patients with the use of hand-carried echo. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that it is possible to train medical residents to perform an effective and reasonably accurate hand-carried echo during their physical examination, which can impact clinical management.
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