• Peter J Snelling, Philip Jones, David Bade, Randy Bindra, Michelle Davison, Alan Gillespie, Jane McEniery, Mark Moore, Gerben Keijzers, and Robert S Ware.
• School of Medicine and Dentistry Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Southport, Queensland, Australia; Department of Emergency Medicine, Gold Coast University Hospital, Southport, Queensland, Australia; Sonography Innovation and Research (Sonar) Group, Queensland, Australia; Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Electronic address: p.snelling@griffith.edu.au.
• Ann Emerg Med. 2024 Mar 1; 83 (3): 198207198-207.

Study ObjectiveIn patients aged 5 to 15 years with a clinically nondeformed distal forearm injury presenting to the emergency department (ED), we examined whether point-of-care ultrasound or radiographic imaging had better diagnostic accuracy, with the reference diagnosis determined by an expert panel review.MethodsThis multicenter, open-label, diagnostic randomized controlled trial was conducted in South East Queensland, Australia. Eligible patients were randomized to receive initial imaging through point-of-care ultrasound performed by an ED clinician or radiograph. Images were defined as "no," "buckle," or "other" fracture by the treating clinician. The primary outcome was the diagnostic accuracy of the treating clinician's interpretation compared against the reference standard diagnosis, which was determined retrospectively by an expert panel consisting of an emergency physician, pediatric radiologist, and pediatric orthopedic surgeon, who reviewed all imaging and follow-up.ResultsTwo-hundred and seventy participants were enrolled, with 135 randomized to each initial imaging modality. There were 132 (97.8%) and 112 (83.0%) correctly diagnosed participants by ED clinicians in the point-of-care ultrasound and radiograph groups, respectively (absolute difference [AD]=14.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 8.0% to 21.6%; P<.001). Point-of-care ultrasound had better accuracy for participants with "buckle" fractures (AD=18.5%; 95% CI 7.1% to 29.8%) and "other" fractures (AD=17.1%; 95% CI 2.7% to 31.6%). No clinically important fractures were missed in either group.ConclusionIn children and adolescents presenting to the ED with a clinically nondeformed distal forearm injury, clinician-performed (acquired and interpreted) point-of-care ultrasound more accurately identified the correct diagnosis than clinician-interpreted radiographic imaging.Copyright © 2023 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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