Introduction: Ultrasonography and point of care ultrasound (POCUS) have become tool in assessing effusion particularly in dyspnea patients. This study aims to evaluate the accuracy of POCUS in detecting effusion. Presents the research objectives, definitions, research question, hypothesis, materials and methods as well as the results.

Methods: We conducted a sectional study at Ziauddin University Hospitals emergency department (North Campus) in Karachi. A total of 50 dyspnea patients were included in the study and both POCUS and chest X rays (CXR) were performed to assess effusion. The diagnostic accuracy of POCUS was determined using CXR as the gold standard.

Results: Among the 50 dyspnea patients examined POCUS detected effusion in 46 patients (92.0%) while CXR detected it in 38 patients (76.0%). The prevalence of effusion was determined to be 76.0%. The calculated diagnostic accuracy of POCUS was found to be 84% with a sensitivity of 100% specificity of 33.33% value of 82.61% and negative predictive value of 100%. These findings suggest that while POCUS exhibits sensitivity for diagnosing effusion its specificity is relatively low, as an initial diagnostic tool.

Conclusion: Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) proves to be an effective method, for identifying pleural effusion in patients experiencing shortness of breath. However it's important to note that its reliability as a tool may have some limitations due to its positive predictive value.

Keywords: POCUS, pleural effusion, chest x-ray, dyspnea, emergency department, bedside ultrasound.