ReviewInternational journal of MCH and AIDS2020
Trends in Ultrasound Use in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review.
Review in International journal of MCH and AIDS, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Neonatal intracranial pathologies on ultrasound imaging in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Pediatric research · 2025Pooled it
- The Use of Superb Microvascular Imaging in Evaluating Rheumatic Diseases: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Developing procedural ultrasound capacity in Malawi through a focused training course.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2026Article
- Article
- Utilization of Noninvasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury Treated in Low-Resource Settings: The Intrigo Study.Neurocritical care · 2026Article
- Establishment and efficacy of a novel point-of-care ultrasound curriculum for Emergency Medicine residents in an East African program.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2026Article
- A deep learning framework for standardized interpretation of multiparameter cardiac ultrasound and disease classification.iScience · 2026Article
- Predictive Ability of Sonographic Characteristics Alone to Diagnose Tuberculous Pleural Effusions in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study in Zambia.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2026Article
- AI-Enhanced Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases in Resource-Limited Settings: A Scoping Review.Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · 2026Article
- Point-of-care ultrasound for fractures of the limbs and the skull in children: breaking down the evidence: reply to Habre et al.Pediatric radiology · 2026Article
- Training in lung ultrasound for the diagnosis of lower respiratory tract infections in children under five years of age in rural healthcare facilities in Guatemala.Journal of global health · 2026Observational
- Quality of first antenatal care visits and perinatal outcomes: Evidence from a cohort study in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and India.PLOS global public health · 2026Article
- Review
- Massive Bilateral Pulmonary Thromboembolism Due to a Thrombus in Transit to the Right Atrium: A Case Report.Cureus · 2026Article
- Multimodal diagnostic imaging for early mitral valve disease: integration of current and emerging modalities-a narrative review.Cardiovascular diagnosis and therapy · 2025Review
- Optimal timing of pyogenic liver abscess evacuation: The role of early ultrasound-guided intervention.World journal of gastrointestinal surgery · 2025Article
- Accuracy of Portable Ultrasound Measurement of the Bladder Volume Using the Manual Fanning Scan and Traditional Motorized Scan Methods.International neurourology journal · 2025Article
- Protocol for a prospective cohort study on pre-eclampsia risk prediction in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.Reproductive health · 2025Article
- Associations and Diagnostic Accuracy of Ultrasound Features in Knee Osteoarthritis: Cross-Sectional Results From a Large Community-Based Cohort.Arthritis & rheumatology (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Article
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundEvidence on recent trends regarding the impact and cost-benefits of ultrasound in resource-constrained settings is limited. This study presents a systematic review to determine recent trends in the utility and applicability of ultrasound use in low and middle income countries (LMIC). The review includes characterizing and evaluating trends in (1) the geographic and specialty specific use of ultrasound in LMICs, (2) the innovative applications and the accompanying research findings, and (3) the development of associated educational and training programs.
methodsThe electronic databases Medline OVID, EMBASE, and Cochrane were searched from 2010 to 2018 for studies available in English, French, and Spanish. Commentaries, opinion articles, reviews and book chapters were excluded. Two categories were created, one for reported applications of ultrasound use in LMICs and another for novel ultrasound studies.
resultsA total of 6,276 articles were identified and screened, 4,563 studies were included for final review. 287 studies contained original or novel applications of ultrasound use in LMICs. Nearly 70% of studies involved ultrasound usage originating from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the latter being the region with the highest number of innovative ultrasound use. Educational studies, global collaborations, and funded studies were a substantial subset of overall ultrasound research. Our findings are limited by the lack of higher quality evidence and limited number of randomized clinical trials reported. CONCLUSION AND GLOBAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: Our systematic literature review of ultrasound use in LMICs demonstrates the growing utilization of this relatively low-cost, portable imaging technology in low resource settings.
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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.