ReviewThe ultrasound journal2021
A systematic review of the cost-effectiveness of ultrasound in emergency care settings.
Review in The ultrasound journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 82 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in pediatric emergency departments: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2025Pooled it
- Self-administered at-home lung ultrasound with remote guidance in patients without clinical training.Respiratory research · 2024Trial
- Hospitalization costs of pediatric acute appendicitis in Western Romania: a single-center retrospective study.Journal of medicine and life · 2026Article
- Personalized Nursing Approaches in Monitoring and Managing Hematoma Risks After Percutaneous Renal Biopsy: A Prospective Observational Study.Journal of nursing management · 2026Observational
- Article
- Point-of-Care Kidney Ultrasonography in Pediatric Nephrology: Current Evidence and Clinical Relevance.International journal of nephrology · 2026Review
- SS_CASE_UNet: an attention-enhanced semi-supervised framework for fetal cerebellum segmentation in ultrasound images.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Emergency Department Disposition and Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Biliary Disease: Propensity-Weighted Cohort Study.The western journal of emergency medicine · 2025Article
- Diagnostic value of high-resolution ultrasonography and computed tomography in the diagnosis of nasal bone fracture.Pakistan journal of medical sciences · 2025Article
- Impact of Longitudinal Pulmonary Ultrasound Curriculum in a Multi-disciplinary Critical Care Fellowship.Cureus · 2025Article
- Chest ultrasound vs. Radiograph for pneumothorax diagnosis performed by emergency healthcare workers in the emergency department: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The ultrasound journal · 2025Review
- The merit of rural point-of-care ultrasound: Carotid pseudoaneurysm case report.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2025Article
- Point-of-care ultrasound competency of doctors working in Cape Town emergency departments.South African family practice : official journal of the South African Academy of Family Practice/Primary Care · 2025Article
- Lung ultrasound is cost-effective for early diagnosis of COVID-19 pneumonia in primary care.BMC pulmonary medicine · 2025Article
- Reliability of Ultrasonographic Assessment of Sternal Micromotions by Physiotherapists in Patients with Median Sternotomy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Overview of Therapeutic Ultrasound Applications and Safety Considerations: 2024 Update.Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine · 2025Review
- Artificial Intelligence in Ischemic Heart Disease Prevention.Current cardiology reports · 2025Review
- Observations of out-of-pocket travel costs in seeking free cardiac care in India: would point-of-care ultrasound help?BMC health services research · 2024Observational
- Non-invasive diagnosis of ventriculoperitoneal shunt malfunction: Advancing hydrocephalus care with SMI ultrasound and AI.Neurosurgical review · 2024Article
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 at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe use of ultrasound (US) in emergency departments (ED) has become widespread. This includes both traditional US scans performed by radiology departments as well as point-of-care US (POCUS) performed by bedside clinicians. There has been significant interest in better understanding the appropriate use of imaging and where opportunities to enhance cost-effectiveness may exist. The purpose of this systematic review is to identify published evidence surrounding the cost-effectiveness of US in the ED and to grade the quality of that evidence.
methodsWe performed a systematic review of the literature following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Studies were considered for inclusion if they were: (1) economic evaluations, (2) studied the clinical use of ultrasound, and (3) took place in an emergency care setting. Included studies were critically appraised using the Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards checklist.
resultsWe identified 631 potentially relevant articles. Of these, 35 studies met all inclusion criteria and were eligible for data abstraction. In general, studies were supportive of the use of US. In particular, 11 studies formed a strong consensus that US enhanced cost-effectiveness in the investigation of pediatric appendicitis and 6 studies supported enhancements in the evaluation of abdominal trauma. Across the studies, weaknesses in methodology and reporting were common, such as lack of sensitivity analyses and inconsistent reporting of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios.
conclusionsThe body of existing evidence, though limited, generally demonstrates that the inclusion of US in emergency care settings allows for more cost-effective care. The most definitive evidence for improvements in cost-effectiveness surround the evaluation of pediatric appendicitis, followed by the evaluation of abdominal trauma. POCUS outside of trauma has had mixed results.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.