Abstract
Objective
Most soft tissue neck masses represent benign inflammatory or infectious processes;
however, in some cases the diagnosis is not clear and a broader differential must
be considered. The aim of this study was to compare point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)
to radiology department imaging (RDI) in the diagnosis of soft tissue neck masses.
Methods
This prospective pilot study involved a convenience sample of patients ranging in
age from 1 month to 18 years of age presenting to the Pediatric Emergency Department
(PED) with a soft tissue neck mass. All children who presented to the PED with soft
tissue neck mass at times when an investigator was in the department, and who were
candidates for enrollment, underwent a POCUS. The managing pediatric emergency medicine
(PEM) provider determined whether RDI was indicated. The results of the POCUS sonologist
and radiologist were compared. The kappa statistic was used to analyze agreement with
p < 0.05 denoting statistical significance.
Results
Twenty-seven patients were enrolled into the study. Twenty-two received radiology
ultrasound (RUS), 3 patients received CT, and 2 patients received both RUS and CT.
There was agreement between POCUS and RDI diagnoses in 21/27 cases (78%). Accordingly,
overall concordance between POCUS and RDI diagnoses was good: the kappa statistic
comparing diagnoses obtained by POCUS versus RDI was 0.69 (p < 0.001).
Conclusion
This prospective pilot study describes the reliability of POCUS as an imaging modality
in the management of patients with undifferentiated soft tissue neck masses. POCUS
demonstrated good agreement with RDI as a bedside imaging tool in the evaluation of
pediatric soft tissue neck masses.
Keywords
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: October 23, 2018
Accepted:
October 22,
2018
Received:
September 30,
2018
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
