Ultrasound Guidelines for Pediatric Vascular Access
More than five million central venous catheter (CVC) lines are placed in hospitals each year, making it one of the most common invasive emergency room procedures. Although NICE guidelines for ultrasound-guided placement of central venous lines in adults and children were first issued in the UK in October 2002, Dr. James Bennett, Consultant Anesthetist at Birmingham Children's Hospital, describes how the debate has since moved on from whether ultrasound should be used for vascular access, to what other information and safety assurances it can provide, especially in pediatrics.…
POCUS Support for Professional Spanish Athletes
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an essential everyday tool in sports medicine at the Clinica Ivre in Valencia, Spain. Trauma specialist Dr. Miguel Ángel Buil-Bellver describes how ultrasound examination of the musculo-skeletal system has made diagnosing injuries easier and quicker, informing treatment decisions and help-ing athletes to return to their sports sooner.The Clinica Ivre opened 10 years ago in Valencia and offers a full range of sports medical services for professional and amateur athletes, including the Valencia Paralympic Committee, the Valencia Basket basketball team…
9 Reasons Ultrasound is Invaluable for Nephrologists
Point-of-care ultrasound is fast becoming a key instrumental technique in nephrology , supporting diagnostics and improving delivery of renal replacement therapy and subsequent vascular monitoring.Here are the top 9 reasons why nephrologists can't afford to ignore ultrasound-guided procedures and applications. 1. Kidney and urinary tract scans provide information about size, shape and echogenicity, as well as an opportunity to identify hydronephrosis.2. Patients with chronic kidney disease are often at risk of cardiovascular complications, such as left ventricular hypertrophy.3. CKD…
Battling Opioid Over-Prescription from Inside the ED
Did you know that nearly half of all opioid overdoses involve a prescription?Physicians are beginning to tackle the problem at ground zero: in the ED, where many patients receive their first prescription opioids.From treating acute traumatic pain to identifying new ways to alleviate patient suffering, emergency medicine physicians are identifying new ways to alleviate patient suffering without prescribing potentially addictive narcotics. Innovative methods like ultrasound-guided nerve blocks can take patient pain from 10 to 0 in a matter of minutes.Join FUJIFILM Sonosite (booth# 2307) in…
The Changing Face of Anesthesia
With constant pressure on healthcare providers to improve the quality and efficiency of care while reducing costs, standardization of patient management is a logical step towards more streamlined services. Anesthesia is one area that is beginning to embrace this approach, combining regional nerve blocks with ultrasound guidance to improve both the quality and effectiveness of patient care while minimizing hospital stays.Dr. Martin Zoremba (PhD), Chief Registrar in the anesthesia Department at Kreisklinikum Siegen, describes the transformation of his department and the benefits that a…
Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Using Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks
A Sonosite SII point-of-care ultrasound system recently played a key role in an innovative procedure of thyroid surgery without the use of general anesthetic.Dr. Rüdiger Eichholz, a consultant anesthetist working for private practice in Stuttgart, Germany, explained the case.“We were approached with an unusual case; a young woman in need of thyroid surgery, but unwilling to have a general anesthetic due to a childhood medical trauma,” said Dr. Eicholz. “We looked at the possibility of performing an ultrasound-guided block of the cervical nerves pathway – a technique commonly used for carotid…
The Tube Approach to Perioperative Point-of-Care Ultrasound
Anaesthetists working in perioperative medicine have increasingly taken a whole body approach to patient evaluation known as TUBE – Total Ultrasound Body Examination – thanks to the development of point-of-care ultrasound.Dr. Christophe Aveline, Consultant Anaesthetist in critical care and surgery at the Sévigné Private hospital in Rennes, is an advocate of TUBE and works closely on its adoption with the European Society of Regional Anaesthesia (ESRA) and the French Society of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation. Dr. Aveline recently sat down with Sonosite to discusses the importance of the TUBE…
Concerns about Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Australia
by Rich Fabian, Chief Operating Officer, FUJIFILM Sonosite
A recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald about a push for increased point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) funding caught my eye. I was initially excited that the topic was receiving such prominent placement, but after delving in, I realized that that situation being described was obviously very frustrating for the people involved.
The article describes three problems that Australian providers and patients face when it comes to the use of POCUS in Australian Emergency Departments.
Medical Professionals Need POCUS Training…
POCUS Profile: Dr. Matthew J. Reed
Point-of-care ultrasound plays an important role in the emergency sector, enabling hospital clinicians and paramedics responding to an urgent call for medical assistance to assess a patient’s condition. Dr Matthew Reed, an Emergency Medicine consultant at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, explains how ultrasound contributes to the management of cardiac arrest:"My interest in ultrasound began over a decade ago when, as a registrar training in Edinburgh, I visited Australia to work at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. At that time, we were not using ultrasound in Edinburgh;…
Treating Acute Pain Without Opioids
For the past 20-odd years in the United States, traumatic and acute conditions have often been treated in the Emergency Room using opioid drugs. Now, with the effects of a nationwide opioid addiction crisis becoming increasingly dire, hospitals and trauma centers are looking for new ways to treat pain without prescribing addictive opioid painkillers.The goal of reducing opioid prescriptions is especially important for patients who are recovering from addiction to opioids. The Huffington Post has published a video that follows one patient’s story as he recovers from a shattered femur at the…
Ultrasound and Changes in Value-Based Care
Uncertainty – especially in economics, government, or healthcare - can be hard to handle. Combine a little bit of uncertainty in Washington D.C. and the medical community and you’ll have a window into 2017, a time when the future of the Affordable Health Care Act and the health sector is in flux.
Is there a silver lining here? We believe so. 2017 presents an opportunity for healthcare providers to evaluate how technologies like ultrasound can solve their challenges. By expanding their use of ultrasound, we believe providers can attract more patients, increase their patients’ level of…
Ultrasound and Changes in Value-Based Care - Part 1
Uncertainty – especially in economics, government, or healthcare - can be hard to handle. Combine a little bit of uncertainty in Washington D.C. and the medical community and you’ll have a window into 2017, a time when the future of the Affordable Health Care Act and the health sector is in flux. Is there a silver lining here? We believe so. 2017 presents an opportunity for healthcare providers to evaluate how technologies like ultrasound can solve their challenges. By expanding their use of ultrasound, we believe providers can attract more patients, increase their patients’ level of…
Point-of-Care Ultrasound Shows Promise for Osgood-Schlatter Diagnosis
Osgood-Schlatter disease is a developmental disorder that causes musculoskeletal problems and is rare in the normal population. However, the condition is more common in teenagers who play sports, affecting an estimated 3-5% percent of this population; it causes painful inflammation below the knee in adolescents and can lead to permanent soft tissue damage. The condition is often diagnosed by MRI, which is both costly and impractical for screening purposes.Dr. Ralf Doyscher, from the Department of Sports Medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, recently participated in a study of…
User Stories: Point-of-Care Ultrasound Aids Elephant Conservation in Vietnam
Vietnam’s wild elephant population has dropped from over 2,000 animals to less than 100 in 20 years, making the country’s 60 or so captive elephants vital to preserving the genetic lines of this critically endangered species.Dr. Willem Schaftenaar, Veterinary Advisor to the European Studbook of Elephants, has been assisting the Đăk Lăk Elephant Conservation Center (ECC) in identifying female elephants suitable for breeding. With the help the Animals Asia Foundation and a Sonosite Edge, Dr. Schaftenaar and the ECC are working with owners to establish a…
Beyond the Block: Why Would an Anesthesiologist Use Ultrasound?
Increasingly, anesthesiologists have been using ultrasound guidance to help visualize soft tissue anatomy and nerve location while performing regional nerve blocks. Correct placement of local anesthetics lead to long lasting pain management and enhanced recovery times.
But beyond the block, how does ultrasound help anesthesiologists do their jobs?
The answer has a lot to do with the changing practice of medicine.
In the United States, anesthesiologists are increasingly expected to perform a wider role in care of patients—that is, care before, during, and after surgery—a specialty known as…
Beyond the Block: Why Would an Anesthesiologist Use Ultrasound?
Increasingly, anesthesiologists have been using ultrasound guidance to help visualize soft tissue anatomy and nerve location while performing regional nerve blocks. Correct placement of local anesthetics lead to long lasting pain management and enhanced recovery times.
But beyond the block, how does ultrasound help anesthesiologists do their jobs?
The answer has a lot to do with the changing practice of medicine.
In the United States, anesthesiologists are increasingly expected to perform a wider role in care of patients—that is, care before, during, and after surgery—a specialty known as…
Ultrasound Answers Questions in Emergency Care in Spain
In the world of emergency medicine, there’s nothing fun about the guessing game. With a seriously ill or injured patient, every second counts and the wrong diagnosis can actually have a significant impact on health. That’s why having all available information is absolutely critical to stabilizing patients and saving lives.
That’s also what makes point-of-care ultrasound so critically important in emergency care.
“[Ultrasound] allows us to determine the best course of action immediately, rather than making our initial decisions blindly and confirming later if we were right or wrong,”…
Ultrasound Care for Endangered Species of Warty Pig [Video]
Veterinary patients can be such pigs. At the Pittsburgh Zoo, they are occasionally lethargic, critically endangered warty pigs. One of the Zoo’s three resident Visayan pigs, Dakila, who is 8 years old, is one such patient. Her veterinary care team, led by Dr. Ginger Sturgeon, pays particular attention to Dakila’s care.Native to the Philippines, Dakila has condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which makes her lethargic (and originally contributed to a less-than-pig-perfect appearance). According to Dr. Sturgeon, Dakila can live a full, healthy life at the Zoo, but…
Hospitals Must Integrate Imaging Technology to Avoid Cuts to Medicare Payment
In her View from the Hill article, Jill Rathbun of the Galileo Consulting Group summarizes the recent annual Medicare Payment Advisory Committee (MedPac) report and explains how implementing a point of care ultrasound program can align health care delivery with the goals and themes of the report.
Each year MedPAC provides guidance to Congress and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on payments for the Medicare programs. This year's report includes the following themes:
Payment accuracy and encouraging efficiency
Care coordination and quality
Broadening information…
6 Steps to Implementing Ultrasound in Critical Care
by Nidhi Nikhanj, MD
In this article for Health Management Magazine, Dr. Nidhi Nikhanj lays out the path for a system-wide implementation of point-of-care ultrasound to bring quality of care and enhanced patient safety to the bedside. What 6 steps should a large health system use to successfully implement point-of-care ultrasound?
Read the full article from Health Management Magazine to find out!