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© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Background: Rural general practitioners (GPs) have insufficient diagnostic information to deal with complex clinical scenarios due to the inequality in medical imaging resources in rural and remote communities. The objective of this study is to explore the value of a tele-mentored handheld ultrasound (tele-HHUS) system, allowing GPs to provide ultrasound (US) services in rural and remote communities. Methods: Overall, 708 patients underwent tele-HHUS examination between March and October 2021 and March and April 2022 across thirteen primary hospitals and two tertiary-care general hospitals. All US examinations were guided and supervised remotely in real time by US experts more than 300 km away using the tele-HHUS system. The following details were recorded: location of tele-HHUS scanning, primary complaints, clinical diagnosis, and US findings. The recommendations (referral or follow-up) based on clinical experience alone were compared with those based on clinical experience with tele-HHUS information. Results: Tele-HHUS examinations were performed both in hospital settings (90.6%, 642/708) and out of hospital settings (9.4%, 66/708). Leaving aside routine physical examinations, flank pain (14.2%, 91/642) was the most common complaint in inpatients, while chest distress (12.1%, 8/66) and flank discomfort (12.1%, 8/66) were the most common complaints in out-of-hospital settings. Additionally, the referral rate increased from 5.9% to 8.3% (kappa = 0.202; p = 0.000). Conclusions: The tele-HHUS system can help rural GPs perform HHUS successfully in remote and rural communities. This novel mobile telemedicine model is valuable in resource-limited areas.

Details

Title
Tele-Mentored Handheld Ultrasound System for General Practitioners: A Prospective, Descriptive Study in Remote and Rural Communities
Author
Yu-Jing, Zhou 1 ; Le-Hang, Guo 2 ; Xiao-Wan, Bo 2 ; Li-Ping, Sun 2 ; Yi-Feng, Zhang 2 ; Hui-Hui, Chai 2 ; Rui-Zhong, Ye 3 ; Cheng-Zhong, Peng 2 ; Qin, Chuan 4 ; Hui-Xiong, Xu 5 

 Department of Medical Ultrasound, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China; [email protected] 
 Department of Medical Ultrasound, Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, China; [email protected] (L.-H.G.); [email protected] (X.-W.B.); [email protected] (L.-P.S.); [email protected] (Y.-F.Z.); [email protected] (H.-H.C.); Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultrasound Diagnosis and Treatment, Shanghai 200072, China 
 Department of Ultrasound Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People’s Hospital (Affiliated People’s Hospital, Hangzhou Medical College), Hangzhou 310014, China; [email protected] 
 Department of Medical Ultrasound, Jinshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 201508, China; [email protected]; Department of Ultrasound, Karamay Central Hospital, Karamay 834000, China 
 Department of Ultrasound, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China; [email protected] 
First page
2932
Publication year
2023
Publication date
2023
Publisher
MDPI AG
e-ISSN
20754418
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2869305114
Copyright
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.