Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41003480›Full record

ArticleTomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.)2025

Validation of a Newly Developed Assessment Tool for Point-of-Care Ultrasound of the Thorax in Healthy Volunteers (VALPOCUS).

Patrick Hoffmann, Tobias Hüppe, Nicolas Poncelet, Julius J Weise, Ulrich Berwanger, David Conrad

Abstract readValidation Study
In one paragraph

Article in Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Patrick HoffmannDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, Saarland University Medical Center and Saarland University Faculty of Medicine, 66424 Homburg, Saarland, Germany.
Tobias HüppeDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, Saarland University Medical Center and Saarland University Faculty of Medicine, 66424 Homburg, Saarland, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-4515-9758
Nicolas PonceletDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, Saarland University Medical Center and Saarland University Faculty of Medicine, 66424 Homburg, Saarland, Germany.
Julius J WeiseInstitute for Medical Biometry, Epidemiology and Medical Informatics, Saarland University Medical Center, 66424 Homburg, Saarland, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0908-5579
Ulrich BerwangerMarienhaus Clinic St. Elisabeth Saarlouis, Department of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, 66740 Saarlouis, Saarland, Germany.
David ConradDepartment of Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Therapy, Saarland University Medical Center and Saarland University Faculty of Medicine, 66424 Homburg, Saarland, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-3343-5636

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesPoint-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an integral part of emergency, intensive care, and perioperative medicine. However, the training and subsequent evaluation of POCUS users are still not standardized. The aim of the study was to develop and validate an assessment tool for POCUS users.

methodsAfter reviewing the existing literature and a multi-stage expert survey (Delphi method), consensus on twelve items for the assessment tool was reached. To validate the assessment tool, a group of volunteer doctors and medical students performed a POCUS examination using simple linear probe and more complex sector probe techniques. The examination was evaluated by two independent assessors using the created assessment tool. Then, four experts evaluated anonymized recordings of the examinations. We tested the reliability and validity, including internal consistency.

resultsA total of 70 examinations were included. Of these, 19 examinations were carried out by physicians and 51 by medical students. A high inter-rater reliability (Cohen's kappa 0.78 (linear weighted; SEM 0.37;

conclusionsThe new assessment tool is highly reliable and a valid tool for assessing POCUS skills. It holds strong potential for integration into medical education and training to objectify ultrasound skills. Further studies are required to investigate discriminatory power and transferability to other POCUS algorithms.

Indexed as

Point-of-Care SystemsThoraxAdultClinical CompetenceDelphi TechniqueFemaleHealthy VolunteersHumansMaleMiddle AgedReproducibility of ResultsStudents, MedicalUltrasonographyassessment toollung ultrasoundPOCUSpoint of care ultrasoundultrasoundvalidation

Identifiers

PMID41003480
PMCPMC12473796

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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.