The evaluation of the intracavitary effusions by a bedside ultrasound examination

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the bedside use of the pocket-sized ultrasound (US) device for the detection of the intracavitary effusions. METHODS: We randomly enrolled 40 patients admitted to S. Andrea Hospital of Rome. Every patient received a clinical and biochemical evaluation and a bedside US examination to detect and estimate the intracavitary (pleural, pericardial and intra-abdominal) effusions; the US measurements have been compared to the computed tomography (CT) scans (as gold standard). RESULTS: The patients presented a high prevalence of effusions: right pleural 16/40 = 40% (esteemed volume 236.3 ± 500.7 ml, mean ± standard deviation m ± SD), left pleural 8/40 = 20% (127.0 ± 377.4 ml), pericardial 12/40 = 30% (47.5 ± 72.8 ml) and intra-abdominal effusions 5/40 = 12.5% of cases (110.9 ± 600.6 ml). Linear regression analysis showed a significant correlation between US and CT measurements: pleural r = 0.973 p < 1 × 10–38, pericardial r = 0.927 p < 1 × 10–39, intra-abdominal space r = 0.921 p < 1 × 10–59. The accuracy of the bedside US at the pleural, pericardial and abdominal level was respectively 98%, 93% and 96% (Cohen’s kappa coefficient 0.966, 0.841 and 0.833). CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed a high prevalence of the intracavitary effusions and a high accuracy of the bedside US. The bedside US by a pocket-sized device is promising tool for its advantages of reproducibility and noninvasiveness of the device.