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Journal Watch: New Article on Ultrasound in Global Health
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to alert you to a review article that details much of the existing literature on ultrasound use in global health/emergency care. The review focuses on point-of-care ultrasound at the bedside, reviews journal articles by region and application, and suggests directions for future research. Congratulations Meera Muruganandan (Fellow in International Emergency Medicine at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital) and Stephanie Sipple (soon to be ultrasound fellow at the Brown Emergency Medicine program)!
Review article: Use of ultrasound in the developing world.
Abstract
ABSTRACT: As portability and durability improve, bedside, clinician-performed ultrasound is seeing increasing use in rural, underdeveloped parts of the world. Physicians, nurses and medical officers have demonstrated the ability to perform and interpret a large variety of ultrasound exams, and a growing body of literature supports the use of point-of-care ultrasound in developing nations. We review, by region, the existing literature in support of ultrasound use in the developing world and training guidelines currently in use, and highlight indications for emergency ultrasound in the developing world. We suggest future directions for bedside ultrasound use and research to improve diagnostic capacity and patient care in the most remote areas of the globe.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Robert D. Harris on -
hey Sachita,
Keep up the good work. Do you have a journal reference for this article? I would love to have a copy of it. Our group has a survey on donated systems in low resource countries that just got accepted to JUM. Your group was one of the respondents. Thanks much! Are you at Brown/RIH now?
best
Bob Harris -
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Permalink Reply by Sachita Shah on -
Hi Robert- Great work on the JUM acceptance- I remember responding to that. I am actually no longer at Brown/RIH, as Ive joined the faculty at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. We have started a new emergency medicine residency there, and its where I went to medical school so Im excited to be back :)
The article reference is below, but I dont think it is fully published quite yet-- soon. Please post a copy of your JUM results here or send me the article and I will begin another journal watch about it soon. Thank you! hope to see you at the national AIUM conference!
Sippel S, Muruganandan K, Levine A, Shah S.
Int J Emerg Med. 2011 Dec 7;4(1):72. [Epub ahead of print]
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Permalink Reply by Yogan Kisten on
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Dear Members,
I'm a new member to this exciting group discussion, and share the same sentiments on this important subject. Ultrasounds' role in primary health care has proven benificial, however not used to its full potential, especially in rural South Africa.
Telemedicine is also a project worth discussing, and hopefully will have a role to play in low and middle income countries globally.
Ultrasound imaging as a screening tool in most areas of medicine also has potential. Preventive medicine and primary healthcare in many developing countries appear to recognise ultrasound as a useful diagnostic tool, however human resources of ultrasound skilled personal also seems to be a limitation in most areas of the globe.
Thanks for accepting my invitation onto this interesting group discussion.
Kindest regards
yogan
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Permalink Reply by Sachita Shah on
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Hello global health ultrasound afficionados
Here is another fantastic review article of ultrasound use in low and middle income countries, that is derived from an extensive literature review. Highlights of this journal article include a large table format review of several pertinent original research studies and their outcomes. Congrats on a job well done and thanks to Bob Harris who provided the link!
Tropical Medicine and International Health
volume 16 no 12 pp 1525–1535 december 2011T
Review: indications for ultrasound use in low- and middle-income countries
Reinou S. Groen1, Jeffrey J. Leow1, Vijay Sadasivam3 and Adam L. Kushner1,2
1 Surgeons OverSeas, New York, NY, USA
2 Department of Surgery, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
3 Department of Radiology, SKS Hospital, Salem, India
Summary objective To determine the indications for using ultrasound, in low- and middle-income countries
(LMICs) and to assess whether its use alters clinical management.
methods Literature review. We conducted a Pubmed search on the clinical use of ultrasound in LMIC
for articles published between January 2000 and December 2010, recording country of origin, speciality
and whether ultrasound use led to a change in management.
results Fifty-eight articles were identified from 32 countries and represented nine specialties. Ultra-
sound was most commonly used for assisting with the diagnosis of obstetrical conditions, followed by
intra-abdominal conditions such as liver abscesses and intussusceptions. Clinical management was
altered in >30% of cases.
conclusion Ultrasound is a highly valuable diagnostic tool in LMICs and its use should be considered
essential for all district medical facilities. The use could be applied more widely, eg., for tropical and
non-communicable diseases. Additional research is needed to further characterize the impact of task
shifting on ultrasound use in LMICs.
keywords ultrasound, sonography, developing countries, low resource setting, task-shifting
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