Point-of-care ultrasound (curriculum)

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The point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) curriculum is one of our curriculum articles and aims to be a collection of articles that represent the core applications of ultrasonography in a point-of-care setting.

Point-of-care ultrasound refers to ultrasonography which may be simultaneously performed, interpreted and utilized by a health care provider at the time of consultation, in proximity to the patient. The goals and scope are fundamentally different from the traditional sonographer-performed ultrasound, limited to specific clinical questions that narrow a clinician's differentials, guide clinical therapy, and direct consultations and disposition.

While more detailed and complex ultrasonography applications may provide information that is more detailed than PoCUS, have greater anatomic specificity, or identify alternative diagnoses, PoCUS is non-invasive, rapidly deployed and does not entail removal of the patient from their clinical area, e.g. resuscitation suite.

PoCUS consensus statements emphasize engaging consultants early on in work-up, ultimately improving initial diagnostic accuracy, initiation of proper management, and allowing PoCUS to play a complementary role to traditional imaging modalities.

While grouping applications of PoCUS is largely arbitrary, the indications for PoCUS tend to revolve around either the function of an anatomical structure or a syndrome eliciting interrogation of systems pertaining to the differential diagnosis.

Anatomy

Thorax
Cardiac
Abdomen
Aorta
Upper and lower Limb
Ear, Nose and Throat
Ocular
Gynecological
Nervous system
  • central nervous system
    • transcranial doppler
  • peripheral nervous system
    • brachial plexus
  • key findings

Radiological examinations

Pathology

Thorax
Abdomen
Ocular
Male reproductive system
Female reproductive system
Upper and Lower extremities
Soft tissue

Physics