Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34491557›Full record

ArticleCJEM2021

Evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound for cholelithiasis and cholecystitis in a canadian emergency department.

Sameer Sharif, Dean Vlahaki, Steven Skitch, Jenifer Truong, Shane Freeman, Daniel Sidalak, Andrew Healey

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in CJEM, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Prognostic role of systemic inflammatory indices in predicting the severity of acute calculous cholecystitis.Ulusal travma ve acil cerrahi dergisi = Turkish journal of trauma & emergency surgery : TJTES · 2026
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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

7 authors.

Sameer SharifDepartment of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, McMaster University, 237 Barton St East, 2nd Floor McMaster Wing, Room 252, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, ON, L8L 2X2, Canada. sameer.sharif@medportal.ca.
Dean VlahakiDepartment of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, McMaster University, 237 Barton St East, 2nd Floor McMaster Wing, Room 252, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, ON, L8L 2X2, Canada.
Steven SkitchDepartment of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, McMaster University, 237 Barton St East, 2nd Floor McMaster Wing, Room 252, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, ON, L8L 2X2, Canada.
Jenifer TruongDepartment of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, McMaster University, 237 Barton St East, 2nd Floor McMaster Wing, Room 252, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, ON, L8L 2X2, Canada.
Shane FreemanDepartment of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Daniel SidalakDepartment of Medicine, Division of General Internal Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Andrew HealeyDepartment of Medicine, Division of Emergency Medicine and Critical Care, McMaster University, 237 Barton St East, 2nd Floor McMaster Wing, Room 252, Hamilton General Hospital, Hamilton, ON, L8L 2X2, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesCholelithiasis and cholecystitis are common conditions that frequently require patients to come to the Emergency Department (ED) and undergo diagnostic imaging. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the test characteristics of emergency physician performed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to diagnose cholelithiasis and cholecystitis in a Canadian ED.

methodsA health records review was performed on all ED patients > 17 years of age for whom POCUS was performed to diagnose cholelithiasis and cholecystitis in a Canadian academic ED over a 5-year period. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and likelihood ratios were calculated. The gold standard used for diagnosis was pathology, laparoscopy, radiology-performed comprehensive ultrasonography, followed by computed tomography scans.

resultsA total of 577 patients were included in the study. The sensitivity and specificity of POCUS to diagnose cholelithiasis was 95.2% (95% CI 91.1-97.8%) and 93.1% (95% CI 90.1-95.4%). The positive and negative likelihood ratios for POCUS to diagnose cholelithiasis were found to be 14 and 0.05; the negative predictive value was 97.6% (95% CI 95.5-98.7%). The sensitivity and specificity of POCUS to diagnose cholecystitis was 67.1% (95% CI 54.9-77.9%) and 97.6% (95% CI 95.9-98.8%). The positive and negative likelihood ratios for POCUS to diagnose cholecystitis were found to be 28 and 0.34; the negative predictive value was 95.6% (95% CI 93.9-96.8%).

conclusionPOCUS is reliable for the diagnosis of cholelithiasis and for ruling in cholecystitis. In cases where POCUS is negative or indeterminate for cholecystitis, further imaging should be obtained as clinical suspicion warrants.

Indexed as

CholecystitisCholelithiasisCanadaEmergency Service, HospitalHumansPoint-of-Care SystemsSensitivity and SpecificityUltrasonographyCholecystitisCholelithiasisPoint-of-care ultrasoundRetrospective

Identifiers

PMID34491557

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.