Diagnostic Accuracy of Chest Ultrasonography versus Chest Radiography for Identification of Pneumothorax: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Early detection of pneumothorax is critically important. Several studies have shown that chest ultrasonography (CUS) is a highly sensitive and specific tool. The present systematic review and meta-analysis was designed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of CUS and chest radiography (CXR) for detection of pneumothorax. The literature search was conducted using PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, CINAHL, SUMSearch, Trip databases, and review article references. Eligible articles were defined as diagnostic studies on patients suspected for pneumothorax who underwent chest computed tomography (CT) scan and those assessing the screening role of CUS and CXR. The analysis showed the pooled sensitivity and specificity of CUS were 0.87 (95% CI: 0.81-0.92; I2= 88.89, P