Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
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Transvaginal sonography is frequently used in the emergency department (ED) to triage pregnancies of unknown location. The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of sonography in clinically stable patients with β-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) values below the discriminatory zone. ⋯ The diagnostic utility of sonography in clinically stable patients presenting to the ED in very early pregnancy is limited. A model using symptoms, β-hCG, hematocrit, and the last menstrual period may aid clinicians to triage those who would benefit from immediate sonography.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
E-point septal separation compared to fractional shortening measurements of systolic function in emergency department patients: prospective randomized study.
Rapid bedside assessment of left ventricular (LV) function can aid in the evaluation of the critically ill patient and guide clinical management. Our primary hypothesis was that mitral valve E-point septal separation measurements would correlate with contemporaneous fractional shortening measurements of LV systolic function when performed by emergency physicians. Our secondary hypothesis was that E-point septal separation as a continuous variable would predict fractional shortening using a linear regression model. ⋯ E-point septal separation and fractional shortening measurements had a moderate negative correlation. E-point septal separation, when used as a continuous variable in a linear regression model, did not reliably predict fractional shortening.
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The primary purpose of this investigation was to describe and validate sonographically guided techniques for injecting the obturator internus (OI) muscle or bursa using a cadaveric model. ⋯ The results of this investigation demonstrate that sonographically guided injections into the OI or its bursa are feasible and, therefore, may play a role in the diagnosis and management of patients presenting with gluteal and "retrotrochanteric" pain syndromes.