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The Ultrasound Journal

Table 1 Weighting of prevalence, diagnostic impact and difficulty of POCUS applications

From: Cardiac ultrasound in resource-limited settings (CURLS): towards a wider use of basic echo applications in Africa

Weight

Disease prevalence

Diagnostic impact of US

US difficulty and technical requirements

1

Rare (< 5%)

Minor or no management change

Technically advanced, often requiring special equipment like TEE probe, cw-Doppler, cardiac software

2

Relatively common (5–15%)

Management change

Moderate, may require color-Doppler

3

Very common (> 15%)

Urgent management change (possibly life threatening)

Technically easy, only basic b/w US

  1. For prevalence and impact the numbers indicate the following levels: 1 = low, 2 = medium, 3 = high. For difficulty, scoring is reversed with numbers indicating the following levels: 1 = high, 2 = medium, and 3 = low. This allows for a composite score where the higher numbers correspond to increasing relevance and applicability of POCUS
  2. US ultrasound, TEE transesophageal echocardiography, cw continuous wave, b/w black and white
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