UltraCon: How reliable is POCUS for pancreatic imaging?

AUSTIN, TX – Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) isn’t typically used for imaging the pancreas, but perhaps that should change, according to a presentation given April 7 at UltraCon. In her talk, Alice Lee, MD, from Stanford University in California highlighted findings on how POCUS can be a reliable tool for pancreatic imaging, whether performed by experienced or novice sonographers. “One of the big implications of pancreatic POCUS is the way that we put imaging in the hands of a provider who’s really managing the patient, whether it’s the gastroenterologist or the primary care physician,” Lee said. Alice Lee, MD, from Stanford University presents research on the feasibility and performance of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) at UltraCon.Amerigo AllegrettoPOCUS has gained traction and popularity in the 21st century for its convenience, versatility, and cost-effectiveness, but it isn’t widely used for imaging of the pancreas. “In the U.S., we’ve kind of pooh-poohed this idea of ultrasound for the pancreas with the bile gas, obesity, and it being a retroperitoneal organ,” Lee said. “But we’ve found through colleagues in other parts of the world that there are areas where … some countries in Asia do use ultrasound for basic first-line imaging for everything, including the pancreas. There are studies that show that in doing that, they [physicians] are able to catch pancreatic cancer earlier.” Lee suggested that operator dependency and limitations of...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - Category: Radiology Authors: Tags: Ultrasound Gastrointestinal Radiology Source Type: news