TY - JOUR
T1 - Intravenous Fluid Bag as a Substitute for Gel Standoff Pad in Musculoskeletal Point-of-care Ultrasound
AU - Mount, Cristin
AU - Taylor, David
AU - Skinner, Carl
AU - Grogan, Scott
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/5/1
Y1 - 2023/5/1
N2 - Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a tool undergoing expanding use in military medicine, including routine inpatient, outpatient, and operational environments. Specific musculoskeletal POCUS examinations require additional equipment in the form of a standoff assist device to maximize image acquisition. These devices may not be readily available to POCUS users in more austere or resource-constrained environments. We devised a study to determine if intravenous fluid bags of various volumes could be substituted for standard standoff devices in musculoskeletal POCUS. Materials and Methods: Sequential images of a soft tissue foreign body model, an interphalangeal joint, and a chest wall were taken using a gel standoff pad or water bath and compared to images acquired using three different sizes of intravenous fluid bags after removing excess air from the bags. Images were de-identified and scored for quality using a visual analog scale. We used a two-factor analysis of variance without replication to analyze the differences in image quality between standoff devices, with a P-value less than.05 considered statistically significant. Results: We performed 13 POCUS studies and had a group of eight POCUS-trained physicians and physician assistants score these studies, resulting in 104 total quality scores. There was no significant difference in image quality between standoff devices for chest (P-value.280) and hand (P-value 0.947) images. We found a significant difference in image quality between standoff devices for the soft tissue foreign body model (P-value 0.039), favoring larger intravenous fluid bag standoff over standard devices. Conclusions: In the absence of a standard commercial gel standoff device or water bath, intravenous fluid bags of 50, 100, and 250 mL can facilitate quality image acquisition for musculoskeletal POCUS.
AB - Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a tool undergoing expanding use in military medicine, including routine inpatient, outpatient, and operational environments. Specific musculoskeletal POCUS examinations require additional equipment in the form of a standoff assist device to maximize image acquisition. These devices may not be readily available to POCUS users in more austere or resource-constrained environments. We devised a study to determine if intravenous fluid bags of various volumes could be substituted for standard standoff devices in musculoskeletal POCUS. Materials and Methods: Sequential images of a soft tissue foreign body model, an interphalangeal joint, and a chest wall were taken using a gel standoff pad or water bath and compared to images acquired using three different sizes of intravenous fluid bags after removing excess air from the bags. Images were de-identified and scored for quality using a visual analog scale. We used a two-factor analysis of variance without replication to analyze the differences in image quality between standoff devices, with a P-value less than.05 considered statistically significant. Results: We performed 13 POCUS studies and had a group of eight POCUS-trained physicians and physician assistants score these studies, resulting in 104 total quality scores. There was no significant difference in image quality between standoff devices for chest (P-value.280) and hand (P-value 0.947) images. We found a significant difference in image quality between standoff devices for the soft tissue foreign body model (P-value 0.039), favoring larger intravenous fluid bag standoff over standard devices. Conclusions: In the absence of a standard commercial gel standoff device or water bath, intravenous fluid bags of 50, 100, and 250 mL can facilitate quality image acquisition for musculoskeletal POCUS.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85159740538&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/milmed/usab422
DO - 10.1093/milmed/usab422
M3 - Article
C2 - 34676409
AN - SCOPUS:85159740538
SN - 0026-4075
VL - 188
SP - e949-e952
JO - Military Medicine
JF - Military Medicine
IS - 5-6
ER -