Accuracy of Spleen Measurement by Medical Residents Using Hand-Carried Ultrasound

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Point-of-Care Ultrasound
• Abdominal Imaging

Background:

• Assessing spleen size is crucial for diagnosing splenomegaly.
• Palpation is unreliable for detecting mild splenomegaly.
• Hand-carried ultrasound offers potential for rapid bedside assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if internal medicine residents can reliably assess spleen size using hand-carried ultrasound.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of a brief educational intervention on resident performance.
• To assess the feasibility of point-of-care spleen size measurement.

Main Methods:

• Internal medicine residents received a 45-minute ultrasound training session.
• Residents practiced spleen size assessment using hand-carried ultrasound on each other.
• Trained residents performed blinded assessments on patients and staff, comparing results to conventional ultrasound.

Main Results:

• No significant difference was found between spleen size measurements by conventional ultrasound (14.0 ± 0.7 cm) and hand-carried ultrasound (13.2 ± 0.9 cm).
• A strong correlation (r = 0.81, P < .001) was observed between the two ultrasound methods.
• Residents with minimal prior ultrasound experience achieved reliable measurements.

Conclusions:

• Internal medicine residents can reliably assess spleen size at the point of care with minimal training using hand-carried ultrasound.
• This technique may enhance the clinical examination of the spleen.
• Further replication in diverse settings is recommended.