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Review
. 2020;9(1):103-120.
doi: 10.21106/ijma.294. Epub 2020 Jan 3.

Trends in Ultrasound Use in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Kelsey A Stewart  1 , Sergio M Navarro  2   3   4 , Sriharsha Kambala  3 , Gail Tan  3 , Revanth Poondla  3 , Sara Lederman  1 , Kelli Barbour  5 , Chris Lavy  4
Affiliations
Review

Trends in Ultrasound Use in Low and Middle Income Countries: A Systematic Review

Kelsey A Stewart et al. Int J MCH AIDS. 2020.

Abstract

Background: Evidence on recent trends regarding the impact and cost-benefits of ultrasound in resource-constrained settings is limited. This study presents a systematic review to determine recent trends in the utility and applicability of ultrasound use in low and middle income countries (LMIC). The review includes characterizing and evaluating trends in (1) the geographic and specialty specific use of ultrasound in LMICs, (2) the innovative applications and the accompanying research findings, and (3) the development of associated educational and training programs.

Methods: The electronic databases Medline OVID, EMBASE, and Cochrane were searched from 2010 to 2018 for studies available in English, French, and Spanish. Commentaries, opinion articles, reviews and book chapters were excluded. Two categories were created, one for reported applications of ultrasound use in LMICs and another for novel ultrasound studies.

Results: A total of 6,276 articles were identified and screened, 4,563 studies were included for final review. 287 studies contained original or novel applications of ultrasound use in LMICs. Nearly 70% of studies involved ultrasound usage originating from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the latter being the region with the highest number of innovative ultrasound use. Educational studies, global collaborations, and funded studies were a substantial subset of overall ultrasound research. Our findings are limited by the lack of higher quality evidence and limited number of randomized clinical trials reported.

Conclusion and global health implications: Our systematic literature review of ultrasound use in LMICs demonstrates the growing utilization of this relatively low-cost, portable imaging technology in low resource settings.

Keywords: Echocardiogram; Global health; LMIC; Low resource; Systematic review; Ultrasonography; Ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: No known conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram Novel: designates novel ultrasound research studies (n=287); Application: designates all applications of ultrasound studies included in review (n=3,888)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ultrasound studies in LMIC over time Novel: designates novel ultrasound research studies; Application: designates all applications of ultrasound studies included in review
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ultrasound studies in LMIC by geographical region Novel: designates novel usage of ultrasound studies; Application: designates all non-novel application of ultrasound studies included in review
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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