ArticlePrehospital and disaster medicine2022
Use of Point-of-Care Ultrasound by Non-Physicians to Assess Respiratory Distress in the Out-of-Hospital Environment: A Scoping Review.
Article in Prehospital and disaster medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- Respiratory Emergencies in Disasters: A Narrative Review.Thoracic research and practice · 2026Article
- Impact of Nurse-Performed Point-of-Care Ultrasound (PoCUS) in Adult Intensive Care: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Impact of Prehospital Lung Ultrasound on Diagnostic Precision and Hospital Transport in Patients with Dyspnea and Respiratory Failure: A Retrospective Comparative Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Tele-guided Ultrasound Lung Imaging for Paramedics (TULIP)-An Acceptability Study.Journal of imaging informatics in medicine · 2026Article
- Paramedic assessment of carotid artery pulsation using pre-recorded ultrasound videos: a comparative analysis of three ultrasound modes.Resuscitation plus · 2025Article
- Paramedics Performed Sonographic Identification of the Conic Ligament-A Prospective Controlled Trial.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Nuts and bolts of lung ultrasound: utility, scanning techniques, protocols, and findings in common pathologies.Critical care (London, England) · 2024Review
- Development and evaluation of a point-of-care ultrasound curriculum for paramedics in Germany - a prospective observational study and comparison.BMC medical education · 2024Observational
- Thoracic ultrasound may improve paramedic diagnostic and management accuracy in undifferentiated respiratory distress.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2024Article
- Review
- Ultrasound on the Frontlines: Empowering Paramedics with Lung Ultrasound for Dyspnea Diagnosis in Adults-A Pilot Study.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Impact of Prehospital Point of Care Ultrasounds on Emergency Patients Length of Stay in Thailand.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2023Article
- Handheld Ultrasound (HHUS): Potential for Home Palliative Care.Ultrasound international open · 2022Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe use of ultrasound in the out-of-hospital environment is increasingly feasible. The potential uses for point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) by paramedics are many, but have historically been limited to traumatic indications. This study utilized a scoping review methodology to map the evidence for the use of POCUS by paramedics to assess respiratory distress and to gain a broader understanding of the topic.
methodsDatabases Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL Plus, and PUBMED were searched from January 1, 1990 through April 14, 2021. Google Scholar was searched, and reference lists of relevant papers were examined to identify additional studies. Articles were included if they reported on out-of-hospital POCUS performed by non-physicians for non-traumatic respiratory distress.
resultsA total of 591 unique articles were identified, of which seven articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles reported various different scan protocols and, with one exception, suffered from low enrolments and low participation. Most articles reported that non-physician-performed ultrasound was feasible. Articles reported moderate to high levels of agreement between paramedics and expert reviewers for scan interpretation in most studies.
conclusionParamedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) have demonstrated the feasibility of lung ultrasound in the out-of-hospital environment. Further research should investigate the utility of standardized education and scanning protocols in paramedic-performed lung ultrasound for the differentiation of respiratory distress and the implications for patient outcomes.
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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.