Can Chest Ultrasound Replace Chest X-ray in Thoracic Surgery?

Background: There is growing evidence that supports the use of chest ultrasound (CUS) versus conventional chest X-ray (CXR) in order to diagnose postoperative complications. However, data regarding its use after thoracic surgery are scarce and contradictory. The aim of this study was to conduct a sy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tomography (Ann Arbor) 2022-08, Vol.8 (4), p.2083-2092
Main Authors: Grapatsas, Konstantinos, Leivaditis, Vasileios, Ehle, Benjamin, Papaporfyriou, Anastasia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
chest ultrasound
chest XR
Database searching
Health aspects
Internet/Web search services
Medical research
Medicine, Experimental
Online searching
postoperative complications
Review
Surgery
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Summary:Background: There is growing evidence that supports the use of chest ultrasound (CUS) versus conventional chest X-ray (CXR) in order to diagnose postoperative complications. However, data regarding its use after thoracic surgery are scarce and contradictory. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the accuracy of CUS after thoracic surgery. Methods: An electronic search in MEDLINE (via PubMed), complemented by manual searches in article references, was conducted to identify eligible studies. Results: Six studies with a total of 789 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Performing CXR decreased in up to 61.6% of cases, with the main reasons for performing CXR being massive subcutaneous emphysema or complex hydrothorax. Agreement between CUS and routine-based therapeutic options was, in some studies, up to 97%. Conclusions: The selectively postoperative use of CUS may reduce the number of routinely performed CXR. However, if CUS findings are inconclusive, further radiological examinations are obligatory.
ISSN:2379-139X
2379-1381
2379-139X
DOI:10.3390/tomography8040175