title: The effect of point-of-care ultrasonography on imaging studies in the medical ICU: a comparative study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Point-of-care ultrasonography performed by frontline intensivists offers the possibility of reducing the use of traditional imaging in the medical ICU (MICU). We compared the use of traditional radiographic studies between two MICUs: one where point-of-care ultrasonography is used as a primary imaging modality, the other where it is used only for procedure guidance.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study was a retrospective 3-month chart review comparing the use of chest radiographs, CT scans (chest and abdomen/pelvis), transthoracic echocardiography performed by the cardiology service, and DVT ultrasonography studies performed by the radiology service between two MICUs of similar size and acuity and staffing levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Total number of admissions, patient demographics, and disease acuity were similar between MICUs. Comparing the non-point-of-care ultrasonography MICU with the point-of-care ultrasonography MICU, there were 3.75 ± 4.6 vs 0.82 ± 1.85 (P < .0001) chest radiographs per patient, 0.10 ± 0.31 vs 0.04 ± 0.20 (P = .0007) chest CT scans per patient, 0.17 ± 0.44 vs 0.05 ± 0.24 (P < .0001) abdomen/pelvis CT scans per patient, 0.20 ± 0.47 vs 0.02 ± 0.14 (P < .0001) radiology service-performed DVT studies per patient, and 0.18 ± 0.40 vs 0.07 ± 0.26 (P < .0001) cardiology service-performed transthoracic echocardiography studies per patient, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of point-of-care ultrasonography in an MICU is associated with a significant reduction in the number of imaging studies performed by the radiology and cardiology services.
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY. Electronic address: moks@nshs.edu.
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oks
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY.
authors.forename: Krystal L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Cleven
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cardenas-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Yale New-Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Jennifer Ann
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Schaub
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY.
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koenig
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY.
authors.forename: Rubin I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY.
authors.forename: Paul H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Mayo
authors.affiliation: Hofstra North Shore Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, Hempstead, NY.
authors.forename: Mangala
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narasimhan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D017046:Cost Savings; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D063868:Patient Outcome Assessment; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States