Emergency Chest Ultrasound and Traumatic Pneumothorax. An Updated Meta-Analysis

Aims: : A commonly encountered problem in emergency care is pneumothorax, identified by air present in pleural space, occurring spontaneously, principally because of trauma or pathogenic factors like a central venous catheter, mechanical ventilation, and biopsy. Employing Chest ultrasound for diagnosing pneumothorax in an emergency is currently investigated by many researchers. The present meta-analysis aimed to assess Chest ultrasound’s diagnostic accuracy in diagnosing the pneumothorax during emergencies. Material and Methods: Literature search of published articles in MEDLINE, Embase, Ovid, Scopus, and Journal on web databases from 2000 up to November 2020 were reviewed for the pre-described outcomes. Results: 12 articles were finally chosen for quantitative analysis. The overall sensitivity of ultrasound scan in pneumothorax diagnosis was 89% (95 % CI – 86 – 91%). Specificity was 96% (CI – 95% – 97%). The diagnostic odds ratio was 193.94 (59.009 – 637.40) at 95% CI, thus demonstrating greater chest ultrasound accuracy in diagnosing pneumothorax. Conclusion: A definite evidence of chest ultrasound accuracy was noted in pneumothorax.