Ultrasound Safer, Just as Effective as X-Ray Screening in the ICU

A new study shows that the use of ultrasound testing instead of X-rays or computed tomography (CT) scanning in the intensive care unit (ICU) reduces patient radiation exposure and lowers costs of care.

The study’s findings were presented at CHEST 2013, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), held October 26-31, 2013, in Chicago (IL, USA). “We found that the use of ultrasound to diagnose patients greatly reduced radiation exposure for patients without negatively affecting their health,” said Margarita Oks, MD, from Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Hospital North Shore-LIJ Health System (Glen Oaks, NY, USA). “It was also cost-effective.”

Dr. Oks and her colleagues assessed medical charts covering three months of information comparing chest X-rays, CT scans, and ultrasound between two independent but similar medical ICUs staffed by the same medical house personnel in one healthcare system. One unit used bedside ultrasound as the standard of care for diagnosis; the second used traditional imaging, such as X-rays and CT scans, as its standard of care in diagnosis.

Researchers discovered that there were 5.21 X-rays performed per patient stay in the ICU using X-rays and CT scans, whereas there were 1.10 X-rays per patient stay in the unit using ultrasound as the standard of care. Total CT scans per patient stay were 0.91 in the non-ultrasound ICU vs. 0.26 in the ultrasound unit. There were 0.27 cardiac echocardiograms per patient stay in the non-ultrasound ICU vs. 0.11 in the ultrasound ICU. Mortality rates did not vary greatly, with 0.27 in the non-ultrasound ICU vs. 0.20 in the ultrasound ICU.

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Long Island Jewish Hospital North Shore-LIJ Health System