ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study is to identify the extent to which it affects clinical decisions in a single-centre observational retrospective study. METHOD: The results of 801 requests and 1174 consecutive individual ultrasound examinations performed over 10 months were analysed. RESULTS: The most frequent indication was diagnostic assistance (39%) followed by assessment of inflammatory activity (34%). By topography, the hand was the most frequently studied region (51%), followed by the foot (18.1%). Of all requests, 67% had an impact on decision-making. The impact on clinical decision-making was associated with a shorter waiting time for the evaluation of the results, being the greatest in those ultrasound scans performed on demand on the same day of the request. In 73% of bilateral ultrasound studies, findings in one of the joints exemplified the overall result reported. CONCLUSIONS: Rheumatological musculoskeletal ultrasound has proven to be a useful decision-making technique, the greater the impact of which is seen the shorter the waiting time before it is performed.
Subject(s)
Rheumatology , Humans , Clinical Decision-Making , Longitudinal Studies , Retrospective Studies , UltrasonographyABSTRACT
Objetivo: El propósito del presente estudio es identificar en qué medida la ecografía reumatológica afecta a las decisiones clínicas mediante un estudio unicéntrico observacional retrospectivo. Método: Se analizaron los resultados de 801 solicitudes y 1174 ecografías individuales consecutivas realizadas a lo largo de 10 meses. Resultados: La indicación más frecuente fue la asistencia diagnóstica (39%) seguida de la evaluación de actividad inflamatoria (34%). Por topografía, la mano fue la región más estudiada (51%), seguida del pie (18,1%). De todas las solicitudes, en el 67% se constató un impacto en la toma de decisiones. El impacto en la decisión clínica se asoció a un menor tiempo de espera hasta la evaluación de los resultados, siendo el mayor en aquellas ecografías realizadas a demanda el mismo día de su petición. En el 73% de los estudios ecográficos bilaterales, los hallazgos en una de las articulaciones ejemplificaban el resultado global emitido. Conclusiones: La ecografía reumatológica demuestra ser una técnica útil en la toma de decisiones, cuyo mayor impacto se constata cuanto menor es el tiempo de espera hasta la evaluación de los resultados.(AU)
Objective: The purpose of the present study is to identify the extent to which rheumatological musculoskeletal ultrasound affects clinical decisions in a single-centre observational retrospective study. Method: The results of 801 requests and 1174 consecutive individual ultrasound examinations performed over 10 months were analysed. Results: The most frequent indication was diagnostic assistance (39%) followed by assessment of inflammatory activity (34%). By topography, the hand was the most frequently studied region (51%), followed by the foot (18.1%). Of all requests, 67% had an impact on decision-making. The impact on clinical decision-making was associated with a shorter waiting time for the evaluation of the results, being the greatest in those ultrasound scans performed on demand on the same day of the request. In 73% of bilateral ultrasound studies, findings in one of the joints exemplified the overall result reported. Conclusions: Rheumatological musculoskeletal ultrasound has proven to be a useful decision-making technique, the greater the impact of which is seen the shorter the waiting time before it is performed.(AU)
