Pocus training

Pleural disease encompasses a large range of conditions, is a common presentation to the acute medical take and often requires comprehensive investigation and treatment. Ultrasound is well recognised as a useful investigative tool in pleural disease especially in the field of pleural effusion, pleural thickening and interventional procedures. Thoracic ultrasound (TUS) has gained widespread use by physicians as evidence has shown a reduced rate of complications when performing pleural procedures with ultrasound guidance...

BACKGROUND: Physicians are increasingly using point of care lung ultrasound (LUS) for diagnosing pneumonia, especially in critical situations as it represents relatively easy and immediately available tool. They also used it in many associated pathological conditions such as consolidation, pleural effusion, and interstitial syndrome with some reports of more accuracy than chest X-ray. This systematic review and meta-analysis are aimed to estimate the pooled diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for the diagnosis of pneumonia versus the standard chest radiological imaging...

BACKGROUND: Acute dyspnea is a common symptom in the emergency department (ED). Standard approach to dyspnea often relies on radiologic and laboratoristic results, causing excessive delay before adequate therapy is started; an integrated point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) approach can shorten the time needed to formulate a diagnosis maintaining an acceptable safety profile. METHODS: Consecutive adult patients presenting with dyspnea and admitted after ED evaluation were prospectively enrolled...

BACKGROUND: The current standard for confirmation of correct supra-diaphragmatic central venous catheter (CVC) placement is with plain film chest radiography (CXR). We hypothesized that a simple point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) protocol could effectively confirm placement and reduce time to confirmation. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled a convenience sample of patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit who required CVC placement. Correct positioning was considered if turbulent flow was visualized in the right atrium on sub-xiphoid, parasternal or apical cardiac ultrasound after injecting 5 cc of sterile, non-agitated, normal saline through the CVC...

OBJECTIVE: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the accuracy of bedside ultrasound for confirmation of central venous catheter position and exclusion of pneumothorax compared with chest radiography. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, reference lists, conference proceedings and ClinicalTrials.gov. STUDY SELECTION: Articles and abstracts describing the diagnostic accuracy of bedside ultrasound compared with chest radiography for confirmation of central venous catheters in sufficient detail to reconstruct 2 × 2 contingency tables were reviewed...

BACKGROUND: Pneumonia is usually presented as a forgotten killer, and an early diagnosis could largely improve the prognostic outcomes. Lung ultrasound (LUS) has been universally applied in evaluating multiple pulmonary diseases including pneumonia. However, the diagnosis accuracy of LUS for pneumonia in adults is still uncertain. Hence, we performed a systematic review of the current literature to assess the diagnosis accuracy of LUS for pneumonia in adults. METHODS: PubMed and EMBASE were searched for clinical trials that assessed the detection accuracy of LUS for pneumonia in adult patients...

Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a safe and rapidly evolving diagnostic modality that is now utilized by health care professionals from nearly all specialties. Technological advances have improved the portability of equipment, enabling ultrasound imaging to be executed at the bedside and thereby allowing internists to make timely diagnoses and perform ultrasound-guided procedures. We reviewed the literature on the POCUS applications most relevant to the practice of internal medicine. The use of POCUS can immediately narrow differential diagnoses by building on the clinical information revealed by the traditional physical examination and refining clinical decision making for further management...

INTRODUCTION: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is expanding across all medical specialties. As the benefits of US technology are becoming apparent, efforts to integrate US into pre-clinical medical education are growing. Our objective was to describe our process of integrating POCUS as an educational tool into the medical school curriculum and how such efforts are perceived by students. METHODS: This was a pilot study to introduce ultrasonography into the Harvard Medical School curriculum to first- and second-year medical students...

BACKGROUND: Some studies suggest that lung ultrasonography could be useful for diagnosing pneumonia; moreover, it has a more favorable safety profile and lower cost than chest radiography and CT. The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of bedside lung ultrasonography for diagnosing pneumonia in adults through a systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, DARE, HTA Database, Google Scholar, LILACS, ClinicalTrials...

Central venous access has traditionally been performed on the basis of designated anatomical landmarks. However, due to patients' individual anatomy and vessel pathology and depending on individual operators' skill, this landmark approach is associated with a significant failure rate and complication risk. There is substantial evidence demonstrating significant improvement in effectiveness and safety of vascular access by realtime ultrasound (US)-guidance, as compared to the anatomical landmark-guided approach...

Acute community-acquired pneumonia should be diagnosed early to avoid most complications. The common diagnostic tools were represented by blood tests and chest X-ray with CT scan coming as a second-line exploration. The presence of air in the pulmonary parenchyma has long been thought of as not explorable by ultrasound. However, since the 1990s, several teams have described a semiology of ultrasonography of pulmonary diseases. Moreover, the safety of the technique and the development of mobile and ultra-portable devices have offered it as a first-line examination by a non-radiologist physician...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the most frequent intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired infection that is independently associated with mortality. Accurate diagnosis and timely treatment have been shown to improve the prognosis of VAP. Chest X-ray or computed tomography imaging are used for conventional assessment of VAP, but these methods are impractical for real-time measurement in critical patients. Therefore, lung ultrasound (LUS) has been increasingly used for the assessment of VAP in the ICU. Traditionally, LUS has seemed unsuitable for the detection of lung parenchyma owing to the high acoustic impedance of air; however, the fact that the reflection and reverberation in the detection region of the ultrasound reflect the underlying pathology of lung diseases has led to the increased use of ultrasound imaging as a standard of care supported by evidence-based and expert consensus in the ICU...

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a widely used tool in emergency and critical care settings, useful in the decision-making process as well as in interventional guidance. While having an impressive diagnostic accuracy in the hands of highly skilled operators, inexperienced practitioners must be aware of some common misinterpretations that may lead to wrong decisions at the bedside. OBJECTIVES: This article provides a revision list of common POCUS misdiagnoses usually found in practice and offers useful tips to recognize and avoid them...

Training in echocardiography is essential for an intensivist. We present a rapidly fatal case of obstructive shock where a vigilant intensivist could diagnose left atrial mass obstructing the mitral inflow as the etiology of shock.

BACKGROUND: Diaphragmatic dysfunction is often underdiagnosed and is among the risk factors for failed weaning. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of diaphragmatic dysfunction diagnosed by B-mode ultrasonography and to determine whether prolonged weaning subjects with diaphragmatic dysfunction have increased duration of mechanical ventilation compared with those without diaphragmatic dysfunction. METHODS: This was a prospective observational study in mechanically ventilated subjects who failed ≥3 spontaneous breathing trials or required >7 d of weaning after the first spontaneous breathing trial...

PURPOSE: Diaphragmatic dysfunction (DD) has a high incidence in critically ill patients and is an under-recognized cause of respiratory failure and prolonged weaning from mechanical ventilation. Among different methods to assess diaphragmatic function, diaphragm ultrasonography (DU) is noninvasive, rapid, and easy to perform at the bedside. We systematically reviewed the current literature assessing the usefulness and accuracy of DU in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. METHODS: Pubmed, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Embase, Scopus, and Google Scholar Databases were searched for pertinent studies...

BACKGROUND: Widespread use of critical care ultrasonography (CCUS) for the management of patients in the ICU requires an effective training program. The effectiveness of national and regional CCUS training courses is not known. This study describes a national-level, simulation-based, 3-day CCUS training program and evaluates its effectiveness. METHODS: Five consecutive CCUS courses, with a total of 363 people, were studied. The 3-day CCUS training program consisted of didactic lectures, ultrasonography interpretation sessions, and hands-on modules with live models...

For many respiratory physicians, point-of-care chest ultrasound is now an integral part of clinical practice. The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound to detect abnormalities of the pleura, the lung parenchyma and the thoracic musculoskeletal system is well described. However, the efficacy of a test extends beyond just diagnostic accuracy. The true value of a test depends on the degree to which diagnostic accuracy efficacy influences decision-making efficacy, and the subsequent extent to which this impacts health outcome efficacy...

Ultrasonography is an essential imaging modality in the ICU used to diagnose and guide the treatment of cardiopulmonary failure. Critical care ultrasonography requires that all image acquisition, image interpretation, and clinical applications of ultrasonography are personally performed by the critical care clinician at the point of care and that the information obtained is combined with the history, physical, and laboratory information. Point-of-care ultrasonography is often compartmentalized such that the clinician will focus on one body system while performing the critical care ultrasonography examination...

Echocardiography is pivotal in the diagnosis and management of the shocked patient. Important characteristics in the setting of shock are that it is non-invasive and can be rapidly applied.In the acute situation a basic study often yields immediate results allowing for the initiation of therapy, while a follow-up advanced study brings the advantage of further refining the diagnosis and providing an in-depth hemodynamic assessment. Competency in basic critical care echocardiography is now regarded as a mandatory part of critical care training with clear guidelines available...