Comparison of Chest Ultrasonography in Diagnosing Rib Fractures using CT as Gold-Standard
Study design
Systematic review and meta-analysis
Population
- Number of patients studied: 663
- Inclusion criteria: Studies comparing chest ultrasonography to CT for diagnosing rib fractures
- Exclusion criteria: Studies without available 2×2 data for meta-analysis
Interventions
- Experimental group: Chest ultrasonography
- Control group: CT imaging
Primary outcome: Sensitivity and specificity of chest ultrasonography in diagnosing rib fractures
Secondary outcomes
+Likelihood ratio: 55.7 (95% CI, 8.5 to 363.4); -Likelihood ratio: 0.11 (95% CI, 0.06 to 0.20)
Conclusion
Chest ultrasonography is sensitive (89.3%; 95% CI, 81.1 to 94.3) and highly specific (98.4%; 95% CI, 90.2 to 99.8) in diagnosing rib fractures following blunt trauma using CT as gold standard.