The most common images were cardiac (n = 19), lung (n = 18), inferior vena cava (IVC) (n = 17), and bladder (n = 6). Over a 7-month period, 16 patients were evaluated during 22 visits. A change in management was defined as a circumstance in which the geriatrician stated that their clinical decision was affected by the HHUS results. Limited patient history, clinical, and imaging findings were stored in a secure database/server (RedCap Consortium, Nashville, TN) for asynchronous review.
All images were acquired on a Lumify (Philips, Inc, Bothwell, WA) or iQ (Butterfly, Inc, Guilford, CT) and were interpreted in real time by the fellow. The team traveled to the patient's home and provided care including the ultrasound. Before the visit, the patient's case was reviewed and assessed for ultrasound utility. All patients were home limited and unable to be transported easily for outpatient appointments. METHODSĪ geriatrician with an established home visit practice in a large US city and an internal medicine physician participating in a dedicated point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) fellowship 5 identified visits that would be ideal for this pilot. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of this technology with the home visit population. 2- 4 We report the use of HHUS during home visits and developed a protocolized ultrasound examination based on our experience. 1 Use of this technology by general practitioners remains limited but will likely increase as more medical schools and residency programs incorporate ultrasound education. Several handheld ultrasound (HHUS) devices have entered the market and are becoming accessible to providers.
Primary care physicians often refer patients to a radiology department for an ultrasound examination, a considerable hurdle for homebound patients.
0 kommentar(er)
