Point-of-Care Ultrasonography Cuts Costs in Undifferentiated Dyspnea
THURSDAY, Sept. 11, 2025 -- For adult patients hospitalized with undifferentiated dyspnea, cardiopulmonary point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is associated with a reduction in length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization costs, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in JAMA Network Open.
Kameswari Maganti, M.D., from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and colleagues examined a collaborative implementation model involving hospitalists, sonographers, and a remote cardiologist for integrating cardiopulmonary POCUS into the assessment of adult patients hospitalized with undifferentiated dyspnea. Two hundred eight patients were included in the study: 107 and 101 in the control and POCUS groups, respectively.
The researchers found that implementation of cardiopulmonary POCUS was associated with a 30.3 percent reduction in expected LOS versus the control group (mean LOS, 8.3 versus 11.9 days, respectively). POCUS use was associated with a total reduction of 246 hospital bed days and direct-cost savings of $751,537 based on cumulative assessments; the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was $3,055 per hospital bed day saved. In 30 patients (35 percent), POCUS altered medical decisions. Despite comprehensive training, adoption and implementation of POCUS by hospitalists remained limited; only 20 percent of POCUS evaluations were performed independently, and most relied on sonographers.
"The explanation here is simple. Ultrasound gives you more information, and more concrete information, about what's going on," senior author Partho P. Sengupta, M.D., also from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said in a statement. "When clinicians can see fluid in the lungs, a failing heart or a stiff inferior vena cava in minutes, they can target therapy sooner or rule out a cardiopulmonary cause and look elsewhere."
Two authors disclosed ties to industry and hold patents.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
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