ArticleThe western journal of emergency medicine2011
Does pelvic exam in the emergency department add useful information?
Article in The western journal of emergency medicine, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01570413 (Utility of Pelvic Examination in the Evaluation of Threatened Abortion), which is not on this map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Utility of Pelvic Examination in the Evaluation of Threatened Abortion
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Utility of pelvic examination in assessing women with bleeding in early pregnancy: a multicenter Canadian emergency department study.International journal of emergency medicine · 2024Article
- Resident Attitudes Toward Performing Pelvic Examinations in the Emergency Department.Women's health reports (New Rochelle, N.Y.) · 2023Article
- Torsion among Women with Acute Lower Abdominal Pain: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.Medical journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran · 2022Article
- Small Bowel in Vagina: A Case for Pelvic Exams.Cureus · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivePhysicians are taught that the pelvic exam is a key part of the evaluation of a woman presenting with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding. However, the exam is time consuming and invasive, and its use in the emergency department (ED) has not been prospectively evaluated. We evaluated how often the findings of the pelvic exam changed management in a cohort of consecutive female patients presenting with acute abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding.
methodsWe enrolled women who required a pelvic exam together with the providers caring for them in an academic ED from September 2004 to August 2005. We collected the results of the general history and physical exam. The provider was asked to predict the findings of the pelvic exam, and these were compared with the actual findings of the exam.
resultsOne hundred eighty-three patients were prospectively entered into the study. When compared with predicted findings, the pelvic exam was as expected in 131 patients (72%). In a further 40 patients (22%), the findings of the pelvic exam were not as predicted, but resulted in no change in the clinical plan. In 12 cases (6%) the exam revealed a finding that was both unexpected and changed the clinical plan. Only one of these patients was admitted. Of the 24 patients who were admitted, four had a pelvic exam that revealed unexpected results, but only one of these cases caused the physician to change the care planned for the patient.
conclusionIn 94% of women with acute abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding, the results of the pelvic exam were either predictable or had no effect on the clinical plan. This suggests that there may be a subset of women with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding in whom a pelvic exam may safely be deferred.
Identifiers
21691528PMC3099609What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.