Mark Johnson, MRCP MBBCh BSc – In acute care environments, accurately assessing complications of intracranial pathology can be challenging. Ocular complications in acute intracranial disease are not consistently evaluated despite their high morbidity. We report on a case of monocular diplopia in a 63-year-old man with subacute traumatic brain injury with localized subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Eric Scheier, MD; Benjamin Taragin, MD – Studies of pediatric appendicitis treated conservatively show a considerable rate of recurrence. Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) imaging at our facility is routinely performed for abdominal pain and may be more likely than radiology-performed ultrasound to encounter cases that then self-resolve. We present a case series collected from a POCUS quality assurance review from 2019 through 2022.
Kandria Ledesma, MD; Joseph Kim, MD; Allison Cohen, MD; Nicholas Bielawa, PA-C; Mathew Nelson, DO – Ischemic colitis is the most common form of gastrointestinal ischemia [1]. The diagnosis of ischemic colitis is made by clinical data and computed tomography (CT) imaging of the abdomen and pelvis [1]. While colonoscopy is considered the gold standard for diagnosis, this is not performed in the emergency department (ED) [2]. Few studies have been performed to describe the sonographic findings of ischemic colitis using point of care ultrasound (POCUS). We report a case that highlights the sonographic findings of ischemic colitis in a patient who had two separate visits to the ED, showcasing the utility of POCUS in making this diagnosis.
Eric Scheier, MD – Studies have demonstrated the high sensitivity and specificity of pediatric emergency department (PED) point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in the evaluation of testicular torsion. Rarely, testicular torsion may present with intact blood flow. Here, we present a case series of four children with testicular torsion confirmed intraoperatively, who had intact blood flow on POCUS.
Jenniffer Katherine Guío Rodríguez, MD; Jenny del Pilar Rico Mendoza, MD; Elkin René Barrios Peralta, MD – Using point of care ultrasound (POCUS) to evaluate patients with syncope in the emergency department facilitates the timely diagnosis of life-threatening pathologies. Case: A 56-year-old woman presented to the emergency department of a hospital in Bogotá, Colombia, for a syncopal episode. Vital signs, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and routine laboratory tests were normal. Cardiac POCUS was performed, which identified an echogenic mass located in the left atrium, measuring 35x28mm, which in left atrial systole appeared to occupy the entire chamber.
Antonio Calvo Cebrián, MD; Rafael Alonso Roca, MD; Ignacio Manuel Sánchez Barrancos, MD – The aim of this study is to estimate the diagnostic accuracy of abdominal point of care ultrasound (POCUS) performed by family physicians (FPs) in primary care (PC), in comparison with the findings in the medical record (MR) at 12 months of follow-up. This study is conducted entirely in PC healthcare centers in Spain. Abdominal ultrasound scans performed by FPs (selected on the basis of their ultrasound knowledge and experience) are compared with the findings, or not, in the patient’s MR after a 12-month follow-up period.
Abhilash Koratala, MD; Nilam J. Soni, MD MS; Rupal Mehta, MD; Nathaniel Reisinger, MD – The rising demand for point of care ultrasound (POCUS) instruction during nephrology fellowship has been limited due to a shortage of trained faculty and courses designed specifically for nephrologists. A hands-on POCUS pre-course was organized during the April 2023 National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Spring Clinical Meeting to address this challenge. The course consisted of pre-recorded lectures and a 4-hour hands-on workshop guided by multidisciplinary POCUS experts.
Nilan Schnure, MD; Mahmoud Mohamed Elfadil, MD; Wilma Chan, MD MSCE; Cameron Baston, MD MSCE; Frances Shofer, PhD; Nova Panebianco, MD MPH – Despite growing use of point of care ultrasound (POCUS), there remains a paucity of data about familiarity with POCUS among educators who dictate curricular content in undergraduate medical education. This paper aims to longitudinally characterize the level of comfort and frequency of POCUS use among faculty involved in undergraduate clerkship education.
Brandon Oto, PA-C FCCM; Robert Baeten, PA-C FCCP; Leon Chen, DNP AGACNP-BC FCCP FAANP FCCM; Puja Dalal, MD FAAFP; Ria Dancel, MD FACP SFHM FAAP; Steven Fox, MD; Carl William Lange IV, MSBS EM-CAQ PA-C; Cameron Baston, MD MSCE FACP; Paul Bornemann, MD RMSK RPVI; Siddharth Dugar, MD FCCM FASE FCCP; Andrew Goldsmith, MD MBA; Meghan Kelly Herbst, MD FACEP; James N. Kirkpatrick, MD FASE FACC; Abhilash Koratala, MD FASN; Michael J. Lanspa, MD; Viveta Lobo, MD FACEP; Jason T Nomura, MD FACEP FAAEM FACP FAHA; Aliaksei Pustavoitau, MD MHS FCCM; Mourad H. Senussi, MD MS; Vincent L. Sorrell, MD FACP (honorary) FACC FASE FSCCT FSCMR; Frances Mae West, MD MS FACP; Aarti Sarwal, MD FNCS FAAN FCCM FASN RPNI – Despite the growing use of point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in contemporary medical practice and the existence of clinical guidelines addressing its specific applications, there remains a lack of standardization and agreement on optimal practices for several areas of POCUS use. The Society of Point of Care Ultrasound (SPOCUS) formed a working group in 2022 to establish a set of recommended best practices for POCUS, applicable to clinicians regardless of their training, specialty, resource setting, or scope of practice.
Danny Yu Jia Ke, BSc; Melissa Tso, MB BCh BAO FRCPC; Amer M. Johri, MD MSc FRCPC FASE – Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) is a condition with several cardiopulmonary etiologies that has the potential of progressing to right heart failure without proper intervention. After a history, physical exam, and investigations, cases of suspected PH typically undergo imaging via a transthoracic echocardiogram (TTE). This is a resource-intensive procedure that is less accessible in remote communities. However, point of care ultrasound (POCUS), a portable ultrasound administered at the bedside, has potential to aid in the diagnostic process of PH.