Incidental Renal Cysts Found by Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Retrospective Chart Review.
J Emerg Med
; 67(2): e209-e216, 2024 Aug.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38816260
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Incidental findings are unrelated to a patient's complaint, found on diagnostic imaging, such as point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Incidental findings represent potential harms to patients and may lead to increased patient anxiety and health care costs related to downstream testing and surveillance. STUDYOBJECTIVES:
In this study, we aimed to calculate the rate of incidental renal cysts found by POCUS. Further, we hoped to describe how emergency physicians relay the findings to patients. Lastly, we hoped to examine if patients suffered harms in the 12 months following identification of an incidental renal cyst.METHODS:
From our single-center, academic emergency department (ED), we reviewed renal POCUS images from 1000 consecutive adult ED patients to determine if there was a renal cyst. Next, we performed manual chart review to determine if patients were informed of the incidental renal cyst or suffered any patient harms.RESULTS:
We found the prevalence of renal cysts to be 6.5% (95% confidence interval 4.9%-8.4%). Those with cysts were more likely to be older compared to those without (63 ± 14 vs. 49 ± 15 years of age). Only 8% of patients had evidence that they were informed of their incidental renal cyst. No patients received a biopsy or were diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma or polycystic kidney disease.CONCLUSION:
Incidental renal cysts are common and are more likely to be found in older adults. In our study, physicians infrequently informed patients of their incidental finding.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Ultrasonography
/
Point-of-Care Systems
/
Incidental Findings
/
Emergency Service, Hospital
/
Kidney Diseases, Cystic
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
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Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
En
Journal:
J Emerg Med
Journal subject:
MEDICINA DE EMERGENCIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
United States