Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31575576›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2019

Primary care physicians' access to in-house ultrasound examinations across Europe: a questionnaire study.

Camilla Aakjær Andersen, Martin Bach B Jensen, Berit Skjødeberg Toftegaard, Peter Vedsted, Michael Harris, Örenäs Research Group

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Observational
  11. Observational
  12. Article
  13. Is there a place for point-of-care ultrasound in UK primary care?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2020
    Article
  14. Review
  15. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Camilla Aakjær AndersenCenter for General Practice, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark caakjaer@dcm.aau.dk.
Martin Bach B JensenCenter for General Practice, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0003-2162-7390
Berit Skjødeberg ToftegaardDepartment of Emergency Medicine, the Regional Hospital in Horsens, Horsens, Denmark.
Peter VedstedResearch Unit for General Practice, Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark.
Michael HarrisDepartment for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7166-2971
Örenäs Research GroupDepartment for Health, University of Bath, Bath, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe overall objective of this study was to examine the differences in ultrasound availability in primary care across Europe.

designCross-sectional study.

settingPrimary care.

participantsPrimary care physicians (PCPs). PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES MEASURES: The primary aim was to describe the variation in in-house primary care ultrasonography availability across Europe using descriptive statistics. The secondary aim was to explore associations between in-house ultrasonography availability and the characteristics of PCPs and their clinics using a mixed-effects logistic regression model.

resultsWe collected data from 20 European countries. A total of 2086 PCPs participated, varying from 59 to 446 PCPs per country. The median response rate per country was 24.8%. The median (minimum-maximum) percentage of PCPs across Europe with access to in-house abdominal ultrasonography was 15.3% (0.0%-98.1%) and 12.1% (0.0%-30.8%) had access to in-house pelvic ultrasonography with large variations between countries. We found associations between in-house abdominal ultrasonography availability and larger clinics (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2 to 4.9) and clinics with medical doctors specialised in areas, which traditionally use ultrasonography (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.8). Corresponding associations were found between in-house pelvic ultrasonography availability and larger clinics (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.7) and clinics with medical doctors specialised in areas, which traditionally use ultrasonography (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.8 to 5.1). Additionally, we found a negative association between urban clinics and in-house pelvic ultrasound availability (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.9).

conclusionsAcross Europe, there is a large variation in PCPs' access to in-house ultrasonography and organisational aspects of primary care seem to determine this variation. If evidence continues to support ultrasonography as a front-line point-of-care test, implementation strategies for increasing its availability in primary care are needed. Future research should focus on facilitators and barriers that may affect the implementation process.

Indexed as

Cross-Sectional StudiesEuropeFemaleHumansMalePhysicians, Primary CarePrimary Health CareSurveys and QuestionnairesUltrasonographydiagnostic radiologyorganisation of health servicesprimary careultrasound

Identifiers

PMID31575576
PMCPMC6773286

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.