Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2020 Jul;33(7):895-899.
doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2020.05.005. Epub 2020 May 11.

Tablet-Based Limited Echocardiography to Reduce Sonographer Scan and Decontamination Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sean R McMahon  1 , Garrett De Francis  2 , Sara Schwartz  2 , William L Duvall  2 , Bhaskar Arora  2 , David I Silverman  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Tablet-Based Limited Echocardiography to Reduce Sonographer Scan and Decontamination Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sean R McMahon et al. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

Background: Limited assessments with handheld ultrasound have found meaningful clinical use in the care of acutely ill patients. However, there are limited data on incorporating handheld-based limited echocardiography into the echocardiography laboratory. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of limited handheld tablet echocardiography as an alternative to traditional echocardiography during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as a means to limit exposure while providing essential clinical information.

Methods: Ninety consecutive inpatients with known or suspected COVID-19 were scanned according to laboratory COVID-19 guidelines using a limited 11- to 20-clip protocol on a tablet sonograph. The primary assessment was length of study time. Comparison data were drawn from comprehensive echocardiographic examinations ordered on intensive care patients not under COVID-19 precautions.

Results: Over a 36-day time period, a total of 91 requests were deemed to be appropriate for echocardiography on patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 (average age, 67 years; 64% men; mean body mass index, 32 kg/m2). Of these, 90 (99%) examinations were performed using a handheld device, and all were deemed diagnostic and provided sufficient information for the clinical care team. Sonographer scan time decreased from an average of 24 ± 6.8 min on a traditional platform to 5.4 ± 1.9 min on a tablet.

Conclusions: Limited handheld echocardiography can be successfully implemented in the echocardiography laboratory for screening of COVID-19-related cardiac conditions. The protocol performed with handheld tablet ultrasound provides adequate diagnostic information of major cardiac complications of COVID-19 while decreasing sonographer contact and simplifying decontamination.

Keywords: COVID-19; Handheld echocardiography; Limited echocardiography.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Tablet-based echocardiography on three patients with COVID-19. (A) Parasternal long-axis view with large pericardial effusion. (B) Apical four-chamber view demonstrating apical thrombus. (C) Apical four-chamber view with UEA (C).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ng K., Poon B.H., Kiat Puar T.H., Shan Quah J.L., Loh W.J., Wong Y.J. COVID-19 and the risk to health care workers: a case report. Ann Intern Med. 2020;172:766–767. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Prinz C., Voigt J.U. Diagnostic accuracy of a hand-held ultrasound scanner in routine patients referred for echocardiography. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2011;24:111–116. - PubMed
    1. Reant P., Dijos M., Arsac F., Mignot A., Cadenaule F., Aumiaux A. Validation of a new bedside echoscopic heart examination resulting in an improvement in echo-lab workflow. Arch Cardiovasc Dis. 2011;104:171–177. - PubMed
    1. Cardim N., Dalen H., Voigt J.U., Ionescu A., Price S., Neskovic A.N. The use of handheld ultrasound devices: a position statement of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (2018 update) Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2019;20:245–252. - PubMed
    1. Picard M.H., Weiner R.B. Echocardiography in the time of COVID-19. J Am Soc Echocardiogr. 2020;33:674–675. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms