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INTRODUCTION: Physicians frequently use point-of-care ultrasound for intravenous access and bloodwork in the ED. Recently, AIUM and ACEP released recommendations on ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous lines (USPIVs), but there are no agreed upon standardized policies. We sought to determine whether the use of sterile-covered transducers (SCT) decreases the rate of contamination when compared to uncovered transducers (UCT) after standard low-level disinfection (LLD). METHODS: This is a randomized control trial comparing contamination rates of US transducers between SCT and UCT after their use for USPIV by the vascular access team, also known as the "PICC" team, over a 3-month period. A sample of admitted patient with an USPIV order were included and randomized to SCT (experimental) or UCT (control) arms. Transducers were swabbed and inserted into the SystemSURE Plus Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) Luminometer to calculate Relative Light Units (RLU). We performed a cost analysis of requiring sterile covers for USPIVs. RESULTS: The UCT and SCT arms contained 35 and 38 patients, respectively. The SCT group had a mean of 0.34 compared to the UCT group mean of 2.29. Each sterile cover costs $8.49, and over 3000 USPIVs are placed annually by the "PICC" team. CONCLUSION: Contamination rates were similar among the UCT and SCT groups after LLD. 254 inpatient USPIVs are performed monthly, not including failed attempts or covers used in the ED where USPIV placement is an essential part of ED workflow. This study suggests that the use of SCT does not significantly affect transducer contamination rates. These findings question burdensome regulatory hospital policies that are not evidence-based.
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BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has demonstrated excellent sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of DVT in the emergency department (ED). Before POCUS became widespread, patients underwent radiology department comprehensive lower extremity venous duplex ultrasounds (RADUS) which may be associated with a prolonged length of stay. OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study is to evaluate the impact of POCUS on ED arrival to disposition (ATD) time for patients presenting to the ED with suspected lower extremity DVT. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart analysis of ED visits to an urban, university-affiliated community hospital from January 2019 to December 2020. This study compared ATD between patients who underwent POCUS by an emergency medicine physician and RADUS by the radiology department. RESULTS: In total, 1204 patients underwent POCUS, and 1582 patients were evaluated with RADUS. The POCUS mean ATD was 313 ± 16.8 min compared to the RADUS arm average of 323 ± 57.9 min (p = 0.56). Order to disposition time (OTD) was prolonged among the RADUS group relative to POCUS. ATD was significantly reduced in the POCUS subgroup of patients presenting during night shift when RADUS was not available, 326 ± 28.2 min versus 630 ± 109 min (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: ED POCUS scans decrease the amount of time between order placement and disposition when compared to RADUS. POCUS significantly decreases length of stay in the ED when RADUS is not available.
