Enhancing clinical outcomes: Point of care ultrasound in the precision diagnosis and Management of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in emergency medicine: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in diagnosing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in the emergency department (ED). A systematic search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Google Scholar identified studies published until July 2024. Nine studies were included, revealing that POCUS is highly accurate in diagnosing AAA, with a pooled sensitivity of 98.33% and specificity of 99.84%. Additionally, data from three studies indicated that 24.5% of patients with positive AAA scans were diagnosed with ruptured AAAs. The results suggest that emergency physicians can accurately detect and manage AAA using POCUS, even with limited training.

Keywords: abdominal aorta aneurysm; diagnostic accuracy; emergency department; point‐of‐care ultrasound; ruptured AAA detection.