PoCUS Impact on the Diagnostic Approach for Thoracic and Abdominal Pain in the ED

Many medical specialties and paramedical fields are increasingly using point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS). In daily practice, thoracic and abdominal pain constitute a significant portion of emergency department consultations. PoCUS can be employed in various ways during thoracic and abdominal physical examinations. Most scientific societies advocate for its use to address specific clinical questions rather than to provide a definitive diagnosis. The integration of PoCUS into clinical examinations raises the question of its effectiveness in improving the diagnostic approach, rather than its diagnostic accuracy alone. Given the broad spectrum of differential diagnoses for thoracic and abdominal pain, this multicenter prospective study protocol aims to evaluate how PoCUS enhances the diagnostic approach for patients presenting with these symptoms in the emergency department. To assess the contribution of PoCUS, three members of an adjudication committee will blindly choose between two case report forms reporting the planned diagnostic approach for each patient: one completed before PoCUS and the other after its use by the investigator handling the case. The hypothesis that PoCUS improves the diagnostic approach by 60% will be reached if 60% of the improved diagnostic approaches favor the case report form filled out after PoCUS.