Point of care ultrasound of the digestive tract (“Echoenterogram”)- Current evidence and the need for training

Abstract

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) is used in multiple fields of medicine to aid in diagnosis and treatment. However, gastroenterology focused PoCUS examinations (we named it “Echoenterogram”: a sound-based scanning of the digestive tract) are not routinely performed. Aims: The primary objective of this review is to highlight PoCUS examinations related to common gastroenterology (GI) pathologies, such as inflammatory bowel disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diverticulitis, small bowel obstruction, and assessment of gastric contents to help determine a nil per os status. Methods: We performed a search of the literature related to gastrointestinal PoCUS in PubMed, without publication type or study design limitations, and used snowballing to identify further papers from the reference lists of the identified papers. Two independent reviewers screened titles, followed by abstracts and full-text articles for eligibility. Results and Conclusions: We show that the PoCUS examination is a good diagnostic bedside tool for several common gastrointestinal diagnoses. In this comparison of GI PoCUS examinations to the current standard of care practices, we conclude that, with appropriate training of gastroenterologists, the echoenterogram can be incorporated into routine medical practice.