title: Surgeon-performed ultrasound at the bedside for the detection of appendicitis and gallstones: systematic review and meta-analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare surgeon-performed ultrasound (SPUS) for suspected appendicitis or gallstone disease to the "gold standard" of pathological examination or radiologist-performed ultrasound (RPUS).
  
  
  METHODS
  MEDLINE, Embase, trial registries, conference proceedings, and article reference lists were searched to identify trials and/or studies comparing SPUS with pathology or RPUS as the reference standard. Data were abstracted from eligible studies to produce 2 × 2 contingency tables, permitting the calculation of pooled sensitivity and specificity values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eight studies (1,268 patients) evaluated SPUS for appendicitis. For appendicitis, SPUS had a pooled sensitivity of .92 (95% confidence interval [CI], .887-.939) and a pooled specificity of .96 (95% CI, .946-.974). SPUS for gallstones was evaluated in 8 studies (1,019 patients). The pooled sensitivity was .96 (95% CI, .934-.979), and the specificity was .99 (95% CI .983-.998).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SPUS achieves acceptable sensitivity and specificity for both gallstones and appendicitis. However, there was some evidence of heterogeneity. Data regarding cost-effectiveness are lacking.
authors: Graduate Entry Medical School, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
authors: Patrick J
authors: PJ
authors: Carroll
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Gibson
authors: Osama
authors: O
authors: El-Faedy
authors: Colum
authors: C
authors: Dunne
authors: Calvin
authors: C
authors: Coffey
authors: Ailish
authors: A
authors: Hannigan
authors: Stewart R
authors: SR
authors: Walsh
mesh_terms: D001064:Appendicitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D042882:Gallstones / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D010819:Physician's Role; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography