Una encuesta a médicos residentes sobre la realización de toracocentesis diagnósticas y terapéuticas: ¿una laguna en la formación?

Results from a Spanish national survey on the application of ultrasound in pulmonology services

“…However, in our opinion, the analysed sample was sufficient to reflect how LUS is currently used in Spain and allowed us to establish recommendations for the better management of these processes. At the national level, other research groups have developed surveys to investigate the use of LUS in other prevalent pathologies, such as COPD [ 18 ], for the management of pleural effusion [ 7 , 11 ] or in palliative care units [ 19 ]. We believe this type of analysis is required to develop new strategic lines of research through scientific societies, because ultrasound could be used to internally evaluate the quality of healthcare provision in different services, develop guidelines to improve the quality of care, promote the development of training, and to facilitate comparative studies between different hospitals.…”

“…After the safety alert issued by the United Kingdom in 2008 [8] when a series of iatrogenic complications caused by the insertion of chest drains was identified, in 2010, the British Thoracic Society (BTS) recommended performing all pleural procedures with ultrasound guidance [9]. Nonetheless, a 2014 survey completed by 500 pulmonologists [10] found that up to 35% of LUSs used to guide these procedures were not yet performed by personnel specialised in pulmonology, and in a 2016 survey carried out among resident pulmonology and internal medicine physicians, only 44% said they routinely used LUS to perform thoracentesis [11].…”