Article Tags: Pediatrics

The Use of Point of Care Ultrasound in Diagnosis of Peritonsillar Abscess

Brian Kohen; Melanie Perez; Jheanelle McKay; Rolando Zamora; Curtis Xu – The use of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) for diagnosis and treatment of peritonsillar abscess (PTA) is increasing [1]. Proven advantages include improved diagnostic accuracy and treatment success rates as well as decreased otolaryngology consultation, computed tomography (CT) usage, return visits to the emergency department (ED), and length of stay [1]. We present a case of a patient with a PTA that was diagnosed and successfully treated utilizing POCUS, avoiding the need for otolaryngology consultation and CT.

POCUS Confirmation of Intraosseous Line Placement: Visualization of Agitated Saline within the Right Heart in a Critically Ill Infant

Inbar S.Y. Plaut, MD; Zachary W. Binder, MD – Intraosseous (IO) line placement can be a life-saving procedure in the management of critically ill patients.  Confirmation of correct IO line placement can be difficult. Prior studies have examined the use of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) to confirm IO line placement by using power Doppler over bone to detect flow within the intraosseous space. This case illustrates a novel use of POCUS in which agitated saline is visualized within the right heart as a means of confirming correct IO placement.

A Longitudinal Evaluation of a Multimodal POCUS Curriculum in Pediatric Residents

Reshma Sabnani, MD; Celia S. Willard, MD; Carolina Vega, MD; Zachary W. Binder MD – Pediatric residency programs often do not include a point of care ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum.  We analyzed a novel POCUS curriculum for pediatric residents that incorporated an online question bank (QB), in addition to a traditional teaching model of didactic instruction and hands-on learning experience.