• Roxana Yoonessi, Aliasgher Hussain, and Timothy B Jang.
• David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Department of Emergency Medicine, Olive View Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA.
• Acad Emerg Med. 2010 Sep 1;17(9):913-7.

ObjectivesAcute retinal detachments (RD) can be difficult to diagnose and may require emergent intervention. This study was designed to assess the performance of emergency department ocular ultrasound (EOUS) for the diagnosis of RD.MethodsThis was a prospective, observational study using a convenience sample of emergency department (ED) patients. Physicians performed EOUS for the diagnosis of RD prior to evaluation by an ophthalmologist. The criterion standard was the diagnosis of a RD by the ophthalmologist who was blinded to the results of EOUS.ResultsFifteen physicians evaluated 48 patients with acute visual changes. Eighteen patients (38%) had RDs and all were correctly identified (true positives). Of the 30 patients (62%) without RD, 25 patients were correctly identified (true negatives), and five patients with vitreous hemorrhages were misidentified as having RDs (false positives). Therefore, the sensitivity and specificity of EOUS for RD were 100% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 78% to 100%) and 83% (95% CI = 65% to 94%), respectively.ConclusionsEmergency department ocular ultrasound is sensitive for the diagnosis of RD and may have a role in excluding RD in patients presenting to the ED.2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine

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