CUS can improve diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. Sonography also reveals small infarcts which remain undetected with other imaging procedure such as helical CT.
Rib fractures could be found about twice as often US than x-ray. There was no difference in the diagnosis of sternal fracture. Detection of fluids (local haematoma and pleural effusion) is better via US than by x-ray. Therapeutical consequences may follow a quick bed-side diagnosis by US in a patient who needs intensive care. Other aspects after detection of a rib fracture US apart from thoracic contusion are psychological effects for the patients (usually they can cope better with their pain), the importance in the interpretation of the duration of incapacity to work and the additional information provided by expert opinions.
Rib fractures and pleural effusions are commonly diagnosed by ultrasonography in patients with blunt thoracic trauma. Concerning the diagnosis of rib fractures (65% versus 36%) and pleural effusions (37% versus 11%), ultrasonography is superior to chest-x-ray. A new and remarkable result is that subpleural infiltrates which are supposed to be lung contusions are also detectable by ultrasonography.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.