©Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2026. No commercial re-use. See Permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Crit Care Med. Mar 9, 2026; 15(1): 113426
Published online Mar 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v15.i1.113426
Published online Mar 9, 2026. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v15.i1.113426
Point-of-care ultrasound for evaluating acute dyspnoea in emergency departments: Systematic review and meta-analysis
Issam Seyala, Department of Acute Medicine, University of South Wales in association with Learna Ltd., Cardiff CF37 1DL, United Kingdom
Jonathan Soldera, Department of Gastroenterology and Acute Medicine, University of South Wales in association with Learna Ltd., Cardiff CF37 1DL, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Soldera J, Seyala I participated in the concept and design research, drafted the manuscript and contributed to data acquisition, analysis and interpretation; Soldera J contributed to study supervision; all authors contributed to critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Corresponding author: Jonathan Soldera, MD, PhD, Department of Gastroenterology and Acute Medicine, University of South Wales in association with Learna Ltd., Llantwit Road, Cardiff CF37 1DL, United Kingdom. jonathansoldera@gmail.com
Received: August 26, 2025
Revised: September 17, 2025
Accepted: January 7, 2026
Published online: March 9, 2026
Processing time: 187 Days and 6.4 Hours
Revised: September 17, 2025
Accepted: January 7, 2026
Published online: March 9, 2026
Processing time: 187 Days and 6.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: This systematic review and meta-analysis highlight the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in evaluating adults presenting with acute dyspnoea in the emergency department. With a pooled sensitivity of 85.6% and specificity of 80.8%, POCUS demonstrates strong potential as a rapid, non-invasive, and radiation-free diagnostic tool. Its bedside applicability and ability to expedite clinical decision-making make it particularly valuable in both high-resource and resource-limited settings. Standardized training and structured protocols are essential to optimize its integration into emergency care and ensure consistent diagnostic performance.