Evaluation of a Pocket-Sized Ultrasound Device As an Aid to the Physical Examination

Study Summary

The 40 resident study subjects will be randomized to either receive a training session on use of a pocket-sized ultrasound or to receive training on physical exam skills. Following these sessions the subjects will have the opportunity to practice their skills during clinical rounds at BWH inpatient and outpatient settings. Four weeks after the training session all study subjects will take part in an assessment of their diagnostic skills. During this assessment they will be asked to complete an exam on a patient subject. Those randomized to the ultrasound group will be allowed to use their devices while the control group will use the traditional physical exam. Following the exams, resident study subjects will be asked to indicate whether they detected any of the following abnormalities on their exams: pleural effusion, hepatomegaly, cirrhotic liver, splenomegaly, ascites, aortic stenosis, mitral regurgitation, right atrial pressure, abdominal aortic aneurysm, deep vein thrombosis. Resident study subjects will also complete a questionnaire about the physical exam and use of the ultrasound. Prior to the assessment, all patients will undergo ultrasound by an attending radiologist, and these results will serve as the "gold standard" for our study.

Primary Outcome

The primary outcome is a comparison of the diagnostic ability of the intervention group as recorded after performing an ultrasound exam and the control group using traditional physical examination techniques. We compared the two groups using the average physical findings correctly identified as present or absent as reflected by a "Present Score" (average # of findings identified out of 17 possible findings) and "Absent Score" (average # of findings identified out of 95 possible). The former is a

Interventions

• DEVICE resident with GE vscan