Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32421511›Full record

ArticleThe western journal of emergency medicine2020

Can Emergency Physicians Perform Carotid Artery Point-of-Care Ultrasound to Detect Stenosis in Patients with TIA and Stroke? A Pilot Study.

Robert Suttie, Michael Y Woo, Lily Park, Marie-Joe Nemnom, Grant Stotts, Jeffrey J Perry

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The western journal of emergency medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.5field-weighted citation impact, top 31% of its field
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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Incremental Role of Multiorgan Point-of-Care Ultrasounds in the Emergency Setting.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023
    Review
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 at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Robert SuttieUniversity of Ottawa, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ontario, Canada.
Michael Y WooUniversity of Ottawa, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ontario, Canada.
Lily ParkUniversity of Ottawa, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ontario, Canada.
Marie-Joe NemnomThe Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada.
Grant StottsThe Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ontario, Canada.
Jeffrey J PerryUniversity of Ottawa, Department of Emergency Medicine, Ontario, Canada.
Ottawa Hospital · CAOttawa Hospital Research InstituteUniversity of Ottawa · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionPatients with severe, symptomatic carotid stenosis can have their subsequent stroke risk reduced by surgical intervention if performed soon after a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke. Patients presenting to an emergency department (ED) without computed tomography angiography (CTA) with TIA/stroke, may require transfer to another hospital for imaging to rule out carotid artery stenosis. The objective of this study was to determine the test characteristics of carotid artery point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in detecting greater than 50% stenosis in patients presenting with TIA/stroke.

methodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study on a convenience sample of adult patients presenting to a comprehensive stroke centre with TIA or stroke between June-October 2017. Carotid POCUS was performed. Primary outcome measure, stenosis ≥ 50%, was determined by the final radiology report of CTA. A blinded POCUS expert separately reviewed the archived carotid POCUS scans. We calculated sensitivity and specificity for stenosis ≥ 50%.

resultsWe conducted POCUS on 75 patients, of which 70 were included in our analyses. Of those 70, 14.3% were diagnosed with greater than 50% stenosis. Carotid POCUS performed as follows: sensitivity 70.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 34.8%-93.3%); specificity 86.7% (95% CI, 75.4%-94.1%); positive likelihood ratio (LR +) 5.3 (95% CI, 1.2-9.3); negative likelihood ratio (LR-) 0.4 (95% CI, 0.0-0.7). The inter-rater reliability between POCUS performer interpretation and expert interpretation had moderate agreement (k = 0.68). Scans took a mean 6.2 ± 2.2 minutes to complete.

conclusionCarotid POCUS has low to moderate association with CTA for detection of carotid artery stenosis ≥ 50%. Further research and investigation is needed prior to widespread use of carotid POCUS in patients with acute cerebral ischemia. Additionally, external validity is likely affected by availability of training, maintenance of competency, and experience in more rural centres.

Indexed as

Emergency Medical ServicesIschemic Attack, TransientPoint-of-Care SystemsStrokeUltrasonographyCarotid StenosisComputed Tomography AngiographyFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedPilot ProjectsProspective StudiesReproducibility of ResultsSensitivity and Specificity

Identifiers

PMID32421511
PMCPMC7234698
OpenAlexW3021466425

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.