Pocket-size hand-held cardiac ultrasound as an adjunct to clinical examination in the hands of medical students and junior doctors

Abstract

The use of PHHE after brief bedside training in the form of a tutorial greatly improved the clinical diagnosis of medical students and junior doctors, over and above history, physical examination, and ECG findings.

Pocket-sized point-of-care cardiac ultrasound devices

“…Our colleagues in intensive care manage a similar subset of patients and are using point-of-care echocardiography to a much greater extent with many physicians striving for BSE accreditation. We have previously demonstrated that an intuitive approach following a brief tutorial on pocketsize echocardiography can improve the diagnostic accuracy over and above history taking and physical examination in the hands of medical students and junior doctors with no previous exposure to echocardiography [16]. As more evidence is obtained to show the feasibility and benefit of FOCUS echo in the emergency department this is likely to change and the pocket-sized devices could potentially play a large role in converting those who find our larger machines impractical and their set up time consuming.…”

Pocket-Sized Ultrasound as an Aid to Physical Diagnosis for Internal Medicine Residents: A Randomized Trial

“…26 More recently, Panoulas et al showed that a 2-h didactic training was sufficient to teach cardiac ultrasound skills to a small group of medical trainees. 19 These studies differed from ours in that we attempted to have residents become adept in a larger set of findings, rather than focusing on a single finding or organ system. At our institution, experience with beginning cardiology fellows has shown that one or more targeted training sessions focusing on specific findings, and sequentially expanding the set of physical abnormalities under study can be effective.…”

“…However, most studies focused on a limited number of findings or very specific settings such as the ICU, and have involved small numbers of residents. [15][16][17][18][19] Others have shown that even after extensive practice, residents' competence in performing and interpreting sonograms is poor. 20 We hypothesized that brief training with and access to a portable ultrasound would increase the diagnostic accuracy of the cardiac, abdominal and pulmonary examinations in the outpatient setting among medical residents.…”

The Utility of Pocket-Sized Echocardiography to Assess Left Ventricular Systolic Function Prior to Permanent Pacemaker Implantation

“…Previous studies have examined the diagnostic accuracy of PSE, its potential clinical applications, and the training involved to maximize safety and effectiveness of its use [7][8][9][10][11]. Several studies have reported that PSE can qualitatively assess LVEF with good reliability, even when a sonographic trainee acquires and/or interprets images [12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Current recommendations limit the use of PSE to triaging candidates to receive sTTE evaluation [19].…”