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  3. Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023): Continuous volume
  4. Review Article

Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023)

November 2022

Point-Of-Care Ultrasonography for Identification of Skin and Soft Tissue Abscess in Adult and Pediatric Patients; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

  • Erfan Rahmani
  • Ehsan Fayyazishishavan
  • Arian Afzalian
  • Sanaz Varshochi
  • Reza Amani-Beni
  • Seyed-Amirabbas Ahadiat
  • Zeynab Moshtaghi
  • Seyyed-Ghavam Shafagh
  • Roya Khorram
  • Elnaz Asadollahzade
  • Raihaneh Atbaei
  • Mohammad Saeed Kahrizi
  • Atoosa Rahbari
  • Negar Baharlouie
  • Farzaneh Mostanbet
  • Bahamin Amirabadiquchani
  • Moein Kiani
  • Mozhdeh Memarizadeh
  • Shahin Keshtkar Rajabi
  • Reza Barati
  • Hengame Hajinouri
  • Shahrzad Najafi
  • Zeynab Abdollahi
  • Nahid Dadashzadehasl
  • Atousa Moghadam Fard
  • Mozhgan Afshar
  • Atefeh Abedi
  • Sara Saeidi
  • Adeleh Mansourirad
  • Pedram Emami Sharezaei
  • Sepideh Shah Hosseini
  • Zahra Rostami Ghotbabadi
  • Reza Vafadar
  • Roozbeh Roohinezhad
  • Nogol Ghalamkarpour
  • Mehrdad Farrokhi

Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine, Vol. 11 No. 1 (2023), 15 November 2022 , Page e49
https://doi.org/10.22037/aaem.v11i1.2021 Published: 2023-07-16

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Abstract

Introduction: Differentiating the soft tissue abscess from other types of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) poses a particular challenge because they have similar physical evaluation findings, but each disease has a different course, outcome, and treatment. This meta-analysis aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasonography for diagnosis of soft tissue abscess in the emergency departments.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search of MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Google Scholar, from inception to January 2023, was conducted to identify relevant studies investigating the diagnostic performance of point-of-care ultrasonography for identification of abscess. Methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using a revised tool for the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2).

Results: The pooled estimates of diagnostic parameters of ultrasonography for diagnosis of abscess were as follows: sensitivity, 0.93 (95% CI: 0.92–0.94); specificity, 0.87 (95% CI: 0.85–0.89), and the area under the summary receiver-operating characteristic (SROC), 0.95. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the SROC of studies in adult patients were 0.98 (95% CI: 0.92–1), 0.92 (95% CI: 0.86–0.95), and 0.99, respectively. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and area under the SROC of studies in pediatric patients were 0.9 (95% CI: 0.87–0.92), 0.78 (95% CI: 0.73–0.82), and 0.91, respectively.

Conclusion: Our meta-analysis demonstrated that the point-of-care ultrasonography has excellent diagnostic value for the abscess in the emergency department. Furthermore, we found that the diagnostic performance of point-of-care ultrasonography for diagnosis of abscess was higher for adult cases than for pediatric patients.

Keywords:
  • Abscess
  • cellulitis
  • diagnostic imaging
  • meta-analysis
  • ultrasonography
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How to Cite

1.
Rahmani E, Fayyazishishavan E, Afzalian A, Varshochi S, Amani-Beni R, Ahadiat S-A, Moshtaghi Z, Shafagh S-G, Khorram R, Asadollahzade E, Atbaei R, Kahrizi MS, Rahbari A, Baharlouie N, Mostanbet F, Amirabadiquchani B, Kiani M, Memarizadeh M, Keshtkar Rajabi S, Barati R, Hajinouri H, Najafi S, Abdollahi Z, Dadashzadehasl N, Moghadam Fard A, Afshar M, Abedi A, Saeidi S, Mansourirad A, Emami Sharezaei P, Shah Hosseini S, Rostami Ghotbabadi Z, Vafadar R, Roohinezhad R, Ghalamkarpour N, Farrokhi M. Point-Of-Care Ultrasonography for Identification of Skin and Soft Tissue Abscess in Adult and Pediatric Patients; a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Arch Acad Emerg Med [Internet]. 2023 Jul. 16 [cited 2025 May 24];11(1):e49. Available from: https://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/aaem/index.php/AAEM/article/view/2021
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