SonoKids MSK bones

OBJECTIVE: Diagnosis of bone fractures by ultrasonography is becoming increasingly popular in emergency medicine practice. We aimed to determine the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) compared with plain radiographs in proximal and middle phalanx fractures. METHODS: Between August 2012 and July 2013, adult patients presenting to our emergency department with a possible (by clinical evaluation) proximal or middle phalanx fracture of finger were invited to participate in this prospective cohort study...

A shortcut review was carried out to establish whether ultrasound is an effective diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of sternal fractures. 27 papers were found of which 4 presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. The clinical bottom line is that in patients with blunt thoracic injury and suspected isolated sternal fracture, ultrasound seems superior to conventional radiology to diagnose sternal fracture...

BACKGROUND: Pediatric forearm fractures are a common presentation in emergency departments in Papua New Guinea. Often these children undergo "blind" closed reduction with reduction adequacy assessed by standard radiographs. This study aims to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of ultrasound (US) in guiding closed reduction of pediatric forearm fractures in a resource-limited setting. METHODS: We recruited consecutive children with closed forearm fractures requiring reduction...

BACKGROUND: Hip fractures are common injuries, particularly among elderly patients. Although plain radiographs are the initial imaging modality of choice, approximately 10% of hip fractures are not radiographically evident. Failure to diagnose a hip fracture in the emergency department may result in delayed diagnosis and potentially devastating consequences. CASE REPORT: We report the case of an 81-year-old woman with right hip pain after a fall. Although plain radiographs of the right hip and femur were negative for fracture, point-of-care ultrasound of the right hip demonstrated a cortical disruption in the femur consistent with a fracture...

Skin and soft tissue infections are common disease presentations to the pediatric emergency department, and rapid and accurate identification of potentially serious skin and soft tissue infections is critical. In cases of atraumatic musculoskeletal pain with systemic complaints, a bacterial etiology must be ruled out. Point-of-care ultrasonography is increasingly common in the pediatric emergency department and assists in rapid and accurate identification of a variety of disease processes. We present a case of a 14-year-old adolescent boy with atraumatic right knee pain to illustrate the benefits of point-of-care ultrasonography in the timely diagnosis of musculoskeletal and soft tissue pathology...

BACKGROUND: In clinically suspected fractures taking radiographs is the standard procedure but the indications should be strictly limited. Ultrasound offers a safe and radiation-free alternative for fracture diagnostics. OBJECTIVES: Sensitivity and specificity of sonographic fracture diagnostics and safety of sonographic algorithms for fracture evaluation. METHODS: Presentation of useful applications for sonographic fracture evaluation and establishment of sonographic algorithms for safe fracture diagnosis...

OBJECTIVES: Metaphyseal forearm fractures are a common occurrence in childhood accounting up to 20% of all pediatric fractures. The standard diagnostic procedure is an x-ray scan. Sonographic examinations could be an alternative that avoids exposition to ionizing radiation and possibly reduces pain, time, and costs. This is a systematic review of clinical studies evaluating ultrasound as a possible alternative to radiographs in diagnosing metaphyseal forearm fractures in children. METHODS: A systematic literature research for diagnostic studies and reviews was conducted in EMBASE, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Library in May 2013 and updated in May 2014...

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the effectiveness of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) with direct radiography (DR) in the diagnosis and management of the patients with metacarpal fractures (MFs). METHODS: Patients between ages 5 and 55 years admitted to the emergency department with suspected MFs were included to the study. Emergency physicians (EPs) participating in the study were divided into 2 groups (POCUS, DR). Patients were evaluated by one of the EPs from each group...

BACKGROUND: Ultrasound (US) is a good first-line alternative for the diagnosis of bone fractures in adults as well as children. Our study shows that, compared to X-ray, in a resource-constrained environment, on-site US has a high sensitivity (98%) and specificity (96%) in the diagnosis of bone fractures. PURPOSE: To compare the accuracy of on-the-spot US with conventional radiography in the screening for bone fractures during the Paris-Dakar rally raid. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-three patients (81 men, 2 women) with clinically suspected bone fractures were included in 2013 and 2014...

BACKGROUND: Tendon insertion pathologies such as enthesitis and apophysitis in children can result from trauma, overuse syndrome and arthritis. Knowledge of the US appearance of normal joints by age might aid diagnosis of pathologies. OBJECTIVE: We describe the age-related sonographic features of the elbows, knees and feet in healthy children, providing a reference for the normal appearance of tendon insertions, apophyseal cartilage and bursae. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a prospective cross-sectional study of 30 healthy children...

In cases of traumatic wrist pain, emergency physicians must maintain a high index of suspicion for scaphoid fractures due to their potential for serious complications. A growing body of literature supports the use of point-of-care ultrasonography by emergency physicians in the evaluation of potential fractures. We report a case of a pediatric scaphoid fracture that was initially not visualized on x-ray and was subsequently detected using point-of-care ultrasound in the ED.

High-resolution ultrasound is emerging as an important imaging modality in fracture assessment due to its availability, ease of use and multiplanar capabilities. Its usefulness includes injury assessment for the presence of a fracture when obtaining radiographs is not immediately available, detecting occult fractures not revealed on radiographs, and diagnosing bone stress injury before radiographic changes. Sonographic evaluation of bone, however, has limitations and should always be coupled with radiographs and possibly advanced imaging modalities such as CT and MR when clinically indicated...

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The primary objective of this study is to assess the accuracy of point-of-care ultrasonography compared with blinded orthopedic assessment of fluoroscopy in determining successful realignment of pediatric forearm fractures. The secondary objective is to determine the rate of agreement of ultrasonography and fluoroscopy in real-time by the treating physician. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in children younger than 18 years and presenting to an academic emergency department with forearm fractures requiring realignment of a single bone...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) with direct radiography in diagnosis and management of the patients with distal radius fractures (DRFs). METHODS: In this study, patients between ages 5 and 55 years admitted to the emergency department with low energy upper extremity trauma with suspected DRF were evaluated with POCUS and direct radiography by emergency physicians (EPs) trained in either musculoskeletal (MSK) imaging or x-ray interpretation of DRF...

BACKGROUND: There are limited data on the sonographic evaluation of normative physeal plate measurements in healthy, uninjured children. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine baseline measurements in physeal plate widths and to assess variation in the measured widths among contralateral sides, age group, and sex in healthy, uninjured children. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study of a convenience sample of healthy patients between 0 and 12 years of age presenting to the pediatric emergency department...

BACKGROUND: Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) are common disease presentations to the emergency department (ED), with the majority of the infections attributed to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Rapid and accurate identification of potentially serious SSTIs is critical. Clinician-performed ultrasonography (CPUS) is increasingly common in the ED, and assists in rapid and accurate identification of a variety of disease processes. CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old female presented to the ED with chin swelling and "boils...

OBJECTIVE: Hand fractures are common in childhood, and radiography is the standard diagnostic procedure. US has been used to evaluate bone injuries, mainly in adults for long-bone trauma; there are only a few studies about hand fractures in children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and confirm the safety and applicability of the US diagnostic procedure in comparison to X-ray diagnosis. STUDY DESIGN: This cross-sectional study involved a convenience sample of young patients (between 2 and 17 years old) who were taken to the emergency department due to hand trauma...

BACKGROUND: Loss of joint cartilage is a feature of destructive disease in JIA. The cartilage of most joints can be visualized with ultrasonography (US). Our present study focuses on discriminant validity of US in children. We studied reproducibility between and within a skilled and a non-skilled investigator of US assessment of cartilage thickness in small and large joints in healthy children. METHODS AND RESULTS: In 11 healthy children (5 girls/6 boys), aged 9...

Patients commonly present with orthopedic injuries to the emergency department (ED). Although radiographs are the standard of care for evaulating these injuries, point-of-care ultrasound is being increasingly used to make the diagnosis. This modality can be useful in patients who are too clinically unstable to leave the acute care ED and in nonverbal pediatric or geriatric patients who are unable to isolate their injuries. Published case series and prospective studies highlight the emergency physician's (EP) ability to detect fractures with point-of-care ultrasound with good accuracy...

BACKGROUND: Blunt head trauma is a common reason for medical evaluation in the pediatric Emergency Department (ED). The diagnostic work-up for skull fracture, as well as for traumatic brain injury, often involves computed tomography (CT) scanning, which may require sedation and exposes children to often-unnecessary ionizing radiation. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to determine if bedside ED ultrasound is an accurate diagnostic tool for identifying skull fractures when compared to head CT...