Benefit of POCUS for assessment of geriatric patients is clear

The impact of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) assessment on patients admitted to the short stay geriatric unit at Cimiez Hospital has been assessed as part of the GERICARE clinical research programme.

Dr Nicolas Azulay reports that the results were positive. A general medicine doctor specialising in scheduled and emergency ultrasound examinations at the University Hospitals of Nice, he works at the Pasteur II and Cimiez hospitals.

Every patient coming into the unit was assessed using a Fujifilm SonoSite iViz ultrasound device, evaluating up to 15 areas of the body. Findings were passed to the admitting doctor to help with the clinical decision-making process at the initial patient assessment.

“Geriatricians looking after patients reported numerous clinical benefits of using ultrasound as a standard part of the assessment procedure,” said Dr Azulay. “In addition to pericardial effusions, it allowed the diagnosis of pulmonary symptoms or infection, pleural sealing, aortic aneurysms, urinary tract obstructions and gallstones, as well as the investigation of the vessels of the neck and lower limbs, and infectious pathologies of the digestive tract.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the information we obtained from ultrasound imaging improved outcomes and even saved lives.”

Picture: Dr Nicolas Azulay reports on the use of POCUS in the GERICARE clinical research programme.

Published on page 17 of the December 2019 issue of RAD Magazine.