title: Establishment of ultrasound as a diagnostic aid in the referral of patients with abdominal pain in an emergency department - a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ultrasonography is a noninvasive, cheap, and fast way of assessing abdominal pain in an emergency department. Many physicians working in emergency departments do not have pre-existing ultrasound experience. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of first-year internship doctors to perform a reliable ultrasound examination on patients with abdominal pain in an emergency setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study took place in an emergency department in Denmark. Following a 1-day ultrasound introduction course, three doctors without prior ultrasound experience scanned 45 patients during a 2-month period. The applicability of the examinations was evaluated by subsequent control examination: computed tomography, operation, or ultrasound by a trained radiologist or gynecologist or, in cases where the patient was immediately discharged, by ultrasound image evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 14 out of 21 patients with a control examination, there was diagnostic agreement between the project ultrasound examination and the control. Image evaluation of all patients showed useful images of the gallbladder, kidneys, liver, abdominal aorta, and urinary bladder, but no useful images for either the pancreas or colon.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With only little formal training, it is possible for first-year internship doctors to correctly visualize some abdominal organs with ultrasonography. However, a longer study time frame, including more patients, and an ultrasound course specifically designed for the purpose of use in an emergency department, is needed to enhance the results.
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Copenhagen University Hospital, Holbaek, Denmark.
authors.forename: Liv la Cour
authors.initials: Ll
authors.lastname: Poulsen
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Copenhagen University Hospital, Holbaek, Denmark.
authors.forename: Emilie Stokholm
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Bækgaard
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Copenhagen University Hospital, Holbaek, Denmark.
authors.forename: Per Grosen
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Istre
authors.affiliation: Emergency Department, Copenhagen University Hospital, Holbaek, Denmark.
authors.forename: Thomas Andersen
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Holbaek, Denmark.
authors.forename: Torben
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Larsen
keywords: acute abdomen; diagnostic imaging; emergency medicine; ultrasound training