Point-of-Care Ultrasound for the Diagnosis of Hip Effusion in Children Presenting to the Emergency Department With Atraumatic Limp or Hip Pain: A Scoping Review

This scoping review investigates the diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for detecting hip effusion in children with atraumatic limp or hip pain presenting to the emergency department. The authors found that POCUS demonstrated high sensitivity (80%-98%) and specificity (91%-98%), particularly when performed by emergency medicine physicians with varying levels of training. They conclude that while POCUS is a promising tool for pediatric evaluation, further large-scale studies are needed to validate its integration into clinical practice.