Article Categories: Research

Can Medical Students Learn and Perform POCUS in the Pediatric Emergency Department? Implementation of a Short Curriculum  

Michael  C. Cooper, MD; Jodi Jones, MD; Mandy Pascual, MD; Steven Field, DO; Juan M. Rendon, MD; Christine Kulstad, MD; Bryant Dixon, MD; Kristie Pham Tu; Aman Narayan; Hunter Pyle; Khiem Hoang; Anthony Han; Dalbir Bahga MD; Aman Pandey, MD; Lynn Roppolo, MD – Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is used by emergency physicians to make rapid critical diagnoses in the emergency department (ED) [1]. POCUS is now being incorporated into medical student patient assessment curricula [2, 3]. Several studies have demonstrated the feasibility of medical students using POCUS and have included teaching multiple POCUS applications to medical students simultaneously [2,4,5]. However, there are few studies demonstrating medical students’ ability to accurately perform POCUS on pediatric patients and these studies have typically included one POCUS application taught at a time [6-9].

Tricuspid Regurgitant Jet Velocity Point-of-Care Ultrasound Curriculum Development and Validation

Zachary W. Binder, MD; Sharon E. O’Brien, MD; Tehnaz P. Boyle, MD, PhD; Howard J. Cabral, PhD; Joseph R. Pare, MD, MHS – The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) recommends that Emergency Medicine physicians with advanced training can evaluate right ventricular (RV) pressures via point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) by measuring a tricuspid regurgitant jet (TRJ).   We were unable to find a published curriculum to deliver education for this at any skill level. 

Comparison of Clerkship Directors’ Expectations of Physical Examination Skills with Point-of-care Ultrasound Skills Using the RIME Framework

Valérie Desjardins, BSc; Paul Pageau, MD; Barbara Power, MD; Isabelle Burnier, MD, M.Ed; Carolina Souza, MD, PhD; Warren J. Cheung, MD, MMEd; Michael Y. Woo, MD – The expectations of point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) in undergraduate clerkship at the University of Ottawa has not been described. We compared clerkship directors’ expectations of physical examination skills with PoCUS skills, before and after completing the clerkship rotation.

The Use of Thoracic Ultrasound to Predict Transudative and Exudative Pleural Effusion

Peter T. Evans MD; Robert S. Zhang MD; Yulei Cao MS; Sean Breslin MD; Nova Panebianco MD, MPH; Cameron M. Baston MD, MSCE; David M. DiBardino, MD – Pleural effusion is a common reason for hospital admission with thoracentesis often required to diagnose an underlying cause. This study aimed to determine if the imaging characteristics of TUS effectively differentiates between transudative and exudative pleural fluid.

Development and Evaluation of Resident-Championed Point-of-Care Ultrasound Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents

Leila Haghighat, MD; Hayley Israel, MD; Eric Jordan, MD; Ethan L. Bernstein, MD; Merilyn Varghese, MD; Benjamin M. Cherry, MD; Reinier Van Tonder, MD; Shyoko Honiden, MD; Rachel Liu, MD; Christopher Sankey, MD – Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a powerful clinical tool that has seen widespread adoption, including in Internal Medicine (IM), yet standardized curricula designed by trained faculty are scant. To address the demand for POCUS education at our institution, we created a resident-championed curriculum with support from skilled faculty across multiple specialties.

Lung Ultrasound to Monitor Disease Severity and Aid Prognostication in COVID-19 Pneumonia: A Retrospective Analysis of Serial Lung Ultrasound Assessments

Matthew Llewelyn Gibbins, MBChB DTMH FRCA FFICM; Quentin Otto, MA MB BChir DiMM; Paul Adrian Clarke, BM BSc MRCP FRCA FFICM; Stefan Gurney, MB BS MD (Res) FRCA FFICM – The aim of this retrospective analysis was to assess if serial lung ultrasound assessments in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia, including a novel simplified scoring system, correlate with PaO2:FiO2 ratio, as a marker of disease severity, and patient outcomes.

The PEGASUS Games: Physical Exam, Gross Anatomy, phySiology and UltraSound Games for Preclinical Medical Education

Mary Hennekes, BS; Sarah Rahman, BA; Andrea Schlosser, BBA; Anne Drake, BA; Tessa Nelson, BS; Emily Hoffberg, BS; Robert A. Jones, DO, FACEP – Gamification engages learners and has successfully taught point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) to residents and fellows. Yet ultrasound (US) curricula in undergraduate medical education remains limited. This study assessed a gamification model integrating US, anatomy, physiology, physical examination, and radiology created for preclinical medical students as compared with traditional didactic education.

Focused Cardiac Ultrasound Curriculum for Internal Medicine Residents

Dipika Gopal, MD; Cameron Baston, MD; Srinath Adusumalli, MD, MSHP; Dinesh Jagasia, MD; Stuart Prenner, MD – : Focused cardiac ultrasound (FCU) is a safe and efficient diagnostic intervention for internal medicine physicians. FCU is a highly teachable skill, but is used in routine cardiac assessment in only 20% of surveyed training programs. We developed an FCU curriculum for internal medicine residents and an assessment tool to evaluate the impact of the curriculum on trainee knowledge and confidence.

Surgeon Performed Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Intussusception – A Pilot Study

Soundappan S.V. Soundappan, MBBS, M.Ch (Paed Surg), FRACS (Paed); Albert Lam, MBBS, FRACR, DDU, PhD; Lawrence Lam, MPH, PhD; Danny Cass, MBBS, FRACS (Paed), PhD; Andrew J.A. Holland, MBBS, FRACS(Paed), PhD; Jonathan Karpelowsky, MBBCH, FRACS (Paed), PhD – Intussusception is an abdominal emergency that affects all ages but infants most commonly and can cause significant morbidity and mortality if missed. Clinical presentation of intussusception can be varied and non-specific and imaging (primarily ultrasound) is usually performed to confirm diagnosis. Abdominal radiographs may be non-specific and contrast studies involve ionising radiation. Ultrasound (US) has evolved as the gold standard imaging for diagnosis because of its high accuracy.