The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Background: Formal ultrasonography has advanced to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the emergency department (ED) for the purpose of acute critical care. While POCUS application expands, little is known about POCUS utilisation in public hospital EDs. This study aimed to describe the use of POCUS...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Halalisiwe B. Khanyi, Bavani Naicker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2021-08-01
Series:South African Family Practice
Subjects:
Online Access:https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5269
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849329811156107264
author Halalisiwe B. Khanyi
Bavani Naicker
author_facet Halalisiwe B. Khanyi
Bavani Naicker
author_sort Halalisiwe B. Khanyi
collection DOAJ
description Background: Formal ultrasonography has advanced to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the emergency department (ED) for the purpose of acute critical care. While POCUS application expands, little is known about POCUS utilisation in public hospital EDs. This study aimed to describe the use of POCUS in an ED in KwaZulu-Natal. Methods: A retrospective chart review study was conducted on all patients who had POCUS exams performed in the ED at the General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital from 01 September 2019 to 31 March 2020. A data collection tool was used to extract the required data from the Mindray M6 ultrasound machine. The data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 26) and descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Results: A total of 978 POCUS were performed on 784 patients. Point-of-care ultrasound was utilised more often for focused emergency echocardiography in resuscitation (n = 383) and extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (n = 319). The findings were normal in 17% of exams, 31% were positive, 9% were unspecified and 43% of POCUS exams were inconclusive. Seven percent of POCUS exams were performed by accredited level 1 emergency POCUS providers and ultrasounds occurred more frequently during day-shift hours than after-hours. Conclusion: Point-of-care ultrasound core applications were utilised by ED doctors for various emergency care scenarios, mainly for trauma and cardiac assessments.
format Article
id doaj-art-e2f300944d034cefb38039eea78d081e
institution Kabale University
issn 2078-6190
2078-6204
language English
publishDate 2021-08-01
publisher AOSIS
record_format Article
series South African Family Practice
spelling doaj-art-e2f300944d034cefb38039eea78d081e2025-08-20T03:47:09ZengAOSISSouth African Family Practice2078-61902078-62042021-08-01631e1e610.4102/safp.v63i1.52694150The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaHalalisiwe B. Khanyi0Bavani Naicker1Division of Emergency Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, DurbanDivision of Emergency Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, DurbanBackground: Formal ultrasonography has advanced to point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the emergency department (ED) for the purpose of acute critical care. While POCUS application expands, little is known about POCUS utilisation in public hospital EDs. This study aimed to describe the use of POCUS in an ED in KwaZulu-Natal. Methods: A retrospective chart review study was conducted on all patients who had POCUS exams performed in the ED at the General Justice Gizenga Mpanza Regional Hospital from 01 September 2019 to 31 March 2020. A data collection tool was used to extract the required data from the Mindray M6 ultrasound machine. The data were processed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 26) and descriptive statistics were used to summarise the data. Results: A total of 978 POCUS were performed on 784 patients. Point-of-care ultrasound was utilised more often for focused emergency echocardiography in resuscitation (n = 383) and extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (n = 319). The findings were normal in 17% of exams, 31% were positive, 9% were unspecified and 43% of POCUS exams were inconclusive. Seven percent of POCUS exams were performed by accredited level 1 emergency POCUS providers and ultrasounds occurred more frequently during day-shift hours than after-hours. Conclusion: Point-of-care ultrasound core applications were utilised by ED doctors for various emergency care scenarios, mainly for trauma and cardiac assessments.https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5269point-of-care ultrasoundemergency ultrasoundemergency careemergency departmentemergency medicinecritical careprimary careprehospital care
spellingShingle Halalisiwe B. Khanyi
Bavani Naicker
The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
South African Family Practice
point-of-care ultrasound
emergency ultrasound
emergency care
emergency department
emergency medicine
critical care
primary care
prehospital care
title The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
title_full The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
title_fullStr The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
title_short The use of point-of-care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
title_sort use of point of care ultrasound in a regional emergency department in kwazulu natal south africa
topic point-of-care ultrasound
emergency ultrasound
emergency care
emergency department
emergency medicine
critical care
primary care
prehospital care
url https://safpj.co.za/index.php/safpj/article/view/5269
work_keys_str_mv AT halalisiwebkhanyi theuseofpointofcareultrasoundinaregionalemergencydepartmentinkwazulunatalsouthafrica
AT bavaninaicker theuseofpointofcareultrasoundinaregionalemergencydepartmentinkwazulunatalsouthafrica
AT halalisiwebkhanyi useofpointofcareultrasoundinaregionalemergencydepartmentinkwazulunatalsouthafrica
AT bavaninaicker useofpointofcareultrasoundinaregionalemergencydepartmentinkwazulunatalsouthafrica