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Is there a role for bedside ultrasound in malaria? A survey of the literature

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A Correction to this article was published on 22 August 2019

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Abstract

Purpose

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has proven utility in the evaluation and treatment of many tropical diseases. Its role in malaria has been studied, but its value for the clinician at the bedside is unclear. Our review aimed at summarizing the existing studies to assess the usefulness, if any, of POCUS in treating malaria.

Methods

We used Boolean operators using keywords “malaria”, “acoustic”, “ultrasound”, “echography”, and “ultrasonography” to search PubMed, Scopus, and Science Direct in three languages (Italian, French, and English).

Results

We found 22 eligible references. Organs explored include the liver, spleen, heart, optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), kidney, lungs, and cerebral vasculature. Multiple pathologic findings by ultrasound are reported, but few demonstrate clinical utility. Current studies involve small numbers of patients, and a few trends emerge when studies are compared. The ability to combine study results is limited due to the significant heterogeneity that exists between studies in regards to both methods of evaluation and the reporting of organ pathology and malaria severity.

Conclusions and assessment

A review of the current literature indicates that the use of ultrasound by clinicians adds little to the diagnostic evaluation of patients with malaria. Our review did find that measurements of the spleen, lungs, optic nerve sheath diameter, and cerebral blood flow have potential utility in specific patient populations. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether this utility persists when a larger sample size is used.

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Change history

  • 22 August 2019

    Unfortunately, all the authors’ first name and family name were erroneously switched in the original article and published online.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical-Surgical, Diagnostic and Pediatric Sciences, University of Pavia, Viale Brambilla 74, 27100, Pavia, PV, Italy

    Paolo Malerba, Enrico Brunetti & Tommaso Manciulli

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia

    Daniel Kaminstein

  3. Department of Infectious Diseases, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Hospital Fundation, Pavia, Italy

    Enrico Brunetti

  4. PhD School of Experimental Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy

    Tommaso Manciulli

Authors
  1. Paolo Malerba
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  2. Daniel Kaminstein
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  3. Enrico Brunetti
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  4. Tommaso Manciulli
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Correspondence to Tommaso Manciulli.

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The original article was revised to correct the first name and family name for all the authors in the group.

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Malerba, P., Kaminstein, D., Brunetti, E. et al. Is there a role for bedside ultrasound in malaria? A survey of the literature. J Ultrasound 23, 13–21 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-019-00371-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40477-019-00371-8

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