We are pleased to share that Stig Holm Ovesen and Jesper Weile from RECEM have published two articles, both based on the same large randomized controlled trial investigating point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in emergency department patients with dyspnea.

🔍 In the main trial, including 674 patients across 10 Danish emergency departments, a POCUS driven diagnostic pathway did not change the proportion of patients discharged within 24 hours or the overall hospital length of stay compared with standard care.

💡 In a preplanned substudy, the use of POCUS was associated with higher early diagnostic certainty, reflected in higher estimated probability of the leading diagnosis and greater agreement between initial diagnostic assessments. This difference was not present at the time of final diagnosis.

Together, these findings highlight an important perspective:
POCUS may influence early diagnostic reasoning and confidence, while not necessarily translating into differences in patient-centered outcomes such as length of stay.

📄 Read the articles:
https://publications.ersnet.org/content/erj/67/3/2500070
https://journals.lww.com/euro-emergencymed/abstract/9900/effect_of_a_point_of_care_ultrasound_driven.230.aspx

This study was funded by the Central Denmark Region, Frimodt-Heineke Foundation, Johan Schrøders Foundation and Riisfort Foundation. The funding agencies had no role in designing or executing the study or in interpreting, writing, or submitting the manuscript.

#RECEM #EmergencyMedicine #POCUS #ClinicalResearch #AarhusUniversityHospital #riisfort