Issues: Vol 02 Iss 02 - SEP 2017

POCUS Journal Volume 02, Issue 02, released September 2017

Case File: Point-of-care ultrasound should end the outdated practice of “marking for a tap”

by Anna Platovsky, MD and Benjamin T. Galen, MD –

A 55 year old man with a history of alcoholic cirrhosis decompensated by esophageal varices status post banding presented to the emergency room with abdominal pain.  He also noted increased abdominal girth with associated poor oral intake and early satiety as well as a 10 lb. weight gain over 2 weeks.  On examination, the patient was afebrile with stable vital signs and no respiratory distress.  His abdominal examination revealed tense ascites with mild tenderness to palpation of the left upper quadrant.  There was no jaundice or asterixis. Laboratory testing was significant for mild thrombocytopenia but no leukocytosis or abnormal liver tests. Liver synthetic function was preserved.

Case Report: Pediatric POCUS: 4 month old infant with a timely diagnosis

by Victor Istasy MD, FRCPC; Tim Lynch MD, FRCPC; Rodrick Lim, MD, FRCPC –

A healthy, four month-old female infant presented to a local emergency department with a 12-hour history of decreased activity, non-bilious vomiting and one episode of dark red blood in the stools. There was no history of fever. Telephone consultation was completed and the patient was transferred to a tertiary, pediatric centre for further evaluation. On arrival, the infant appeared pale and was lethargic during the exam.

Pilot Project: Does formal bedside training of medical students with a FAST exam increase their knowledge and comfort level with ultrasound use in a community family medicine practice setting?

by Rimi Sambi, MD and Heather Sawula, MD; Brent Wolfrom, MD; and Joseph Newbigging, MD –

As point of care ultrasound (PoCUS) becomes increasingly popular and a standard of care in many clinical settings, the interest for integration in medical undergraduate curriculum is also growing. This project aims to assess whether formal bedside Focused Abdominal Scan for Trauma (FAST) exam training of medical students increases their knowledge and comfort with the use of bedside ultrasound in a family medicine setting at Queen’s University.