Original Title: Eficacia y seguridad diagnóstica de la ecografía en el punto de cuidado en pacientes ambulatorios en medicina interna

Authors' objectives: This study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of POCUS in diagnosing common prevalent pathologies in internal medicine outpatients and analyze the economic and organizational aspects associated with its implementation in this setting.

Authors' results and conclusions: Results No evidence was found in SRs or MAs in the first phase. The second phase's specific bibliographic search included 14 observational primary studies. Of these, 10 primary studies analyzed variables related to efficacy, diagnostic accuracy and organizational aspects, such as the training or education of professionals using POCUS. Additionally, two primary studies were identified that addressed variables related to efficiency or economic aspects, and two others explored variables related to the patient's perspective. Conclusions Integrating ultrasound, especially POCUS, into routine practice in internal medicine outpatient clinics may be beneficial. However, for its proper implementation, continuous evaluation of its efficacy, safety and costeffectiveness is required.

Authors' methods: A systematic review of the literature with two phases. In the first phase, the search was limited to reports of technology assessment, systematic reviews (SRs), and meta-analyses(MAs), followed by a second phase of targeted search to identify observational primary studies (PS). Specific search strategies were developed, and the following electronic databases were consulted: Medline (Ovid), Embase (Excerpta Medica DataBase), Cochrane Library (Cochrane Review Database), INAHTA (International HTA Database), WOS (SCI Science Citation Index) and PubMed (Ahead of Print/First Online). On the other hand, resources such as TripDataBase were consulted, as well as the leading websites of European agencies: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the Spanish Network of Agencies for the Evaluation of Health Technologies and SNS Services (RedETS). Two independent researchers selected and analyzed the quality of the studies. The synthesis of the results was carried out quantitatively. The tools selected to evaluate the quality of the included studies were AMSTAR-2 for SRs and QUADAS-2 for diagnostic PSs.

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: https://www.aetsa.org/publicacion/eficacia-y-seguridad-diagnostica-de-la-ecografia-en-el-punto-de-cuidado-en-pacientes-ambulatorios-en-medicina-interna/

Year Published: 2025

URL for published report: https://www.aetsa.org/download/publicaciones/POCUS_MI_web.pdf

Requestor: Spanish Health Ministry

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Full HTA

Country: Spain

DOI: 10.52766/XBRN4053

Organisation Name: Andalusian Health Technology Assessment Area

Contact Address: Area de Evaluacion de Tecnologias Sanitarias Sanitarias de Andalucia (AETSA) Avda. Innovación, s/n Edificio Arena 1. Sevilla (Spain) Tel. +34 955 006 309

Contact Name: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Contact Email: aetsa.csalud@juntadeandalucia.es

Copyright: <p>Andalusian Agency for Health Technology Assessment (AETSA)</p>