A Guide to Point of Care Ultrasound Evaluation of Pneumonia

Authors

Michael Dong, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Frances Mae West, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Rebecca Davis, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Jonathan Foster, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow
Jillian Cooper, MD, Thomas Jefferson UniversityFollow

Abstract

A patient presenting with fever, hypoxia, productive cough, and leukocytosis can be diagnosed with pneumonia without any imaging findings. However, we often rely on X-ray and computed tomography (CT) imaging to support the clinical diagnosis. Ultrasound is an effective imaging modality for identifying pneumonia without delay and radiation risks.^1,2 A meta-analysis by Ye et al. in 2015 found that ultrasound diagnosis of pneumonia had a pooled sensitivity of 0.95 and a pooled specificity of 0.9, which is superior to X-ray imaging which had a pooled sensitivity of 0.77 and a similar pooled specificity of 0.9.³ This study used CT imaging as a gold standard for comparison.

Recommended Citation

Dong, MD, Michael; West, MD, Frances Mae; Davis, MD, Rebecca; Foster, MD, Jonathan; and Cooper, MD, Jillian (2023) "A Guide to Point of Care Ultrasound Evaluation of Pneumonia," The Medicine Forum: Vol. 24, Article 16.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29046/TMF.024.1.015
Available at: https://jdc.jefferson.edu/tmf/vol24/iss1/16