Treating Acute Pain Without Opioids
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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 centres 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…
POCUS Profile: Dr. Matthew J. Reed
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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;…
Concerns about Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Australia
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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 realised 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…
The Tube Approach to Perioperative Point-of-Care Ultrasound
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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…
Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery Using Ultrasound-Guided Nerve Blocks
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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 anaesthetic.Dr. Rüdiger Eichholz, a consultant anaesthetist working for private practise 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 anaesthetic 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…
Battling Opioid Over-Prescription from Inside the ED
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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…
Beyond the Block: Why Would an Anaesthesiologist Use Ultrasound?
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Increasingly, anaesthesiologists have been using ultrasound guidance to help visualise soft tissue anatomy and nerve location while performing regional nerve blocks. Correct placement of local anaesthetics lead to long lasting pain management and enhanced recovery times.
But beyond the block, how does ultrasound help anaesthesiologists do their jobs?
The answer has a lot to do with the changing practise of medicine.
In the United States, anaesthesiologists are increasingly expected to perform a wider role in care of patients—that is, care before, during, and after surgery—a specialty known…
Beyond the Block: Why Would an Anaesthesiologist Use Ultrasound?
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Increasingly, anaesthesiologists have been using ultrasound guidance to help visualise soft tissue anatomy and nerve location while performing regional nerve blocks. Correct placement of local anaesthetics lead to long lasting pain management and enhanced recovery times.
But beyond the block, how does ultrasound help anaesthesiologists do their jobs?
The answer has a lot to do with the changing practise of medicine.
In the United States, anaesthesiologists are increasingly expected to perform a wider role in care of patients—that is, care before, during, and after surgery—a specialty known…
User Stories: Point-of-Care Ultrasound Aids Elephant Conservation in Vietnam
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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 Centre (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…
The Changing Face of Anaesthesia
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With constant pressure on healthcare providers to improve the quality and efficiency of care while reducing costs, standardisation of patient management is a logical step towards more streamlined services. Anaesthesia 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 anaesthesia Department at Kreisklinikum Siegen, describes the transformation of his department and the benefits that a…
Point-of-Care Ultrasound Shows Promise for Osgood-Schlatter Diagnosis
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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…
Ultrasound Answers Questions in Emergency Care in Spain
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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 stabilising 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,”…
Six Steps to Implement Bedside Ultrasonography in Critical Care
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Health Management Magazine
Nidhi Nikhanj, M.D.
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. See the six steps that a large health system used to successfully adopt ultrasound.
Read Article
Ultrasound in MSK
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Sonosite was recently graced with visiting doctors from around the country, one of which was Dr Byron Patterson who is a partner in Primary Care Sports Medicine in Tarzana California. He made a wonderful presentation to more than 160 employees about ultrasound applications in sports medicine.
What a surprise it was to see him on a reality show that one of his patients was participating in. The patient had knee pain and it is amazing to see how musculoskeletal ultrasound was used not only to diagnose the problem, but also to help relieve his pain and increase his…
Rotterdam, Netherlands ambulance paramedics trained to diagnose AAA condition in transport
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Amsterdam, 19th of January 2016.
[This is translated to English from the Netherland’s news paper]
The ambulances in Rotterdam Netherlands during the coming 5 months are equipped with ultrasound imaging that could be life saving with people with an AAA.
Special ambulance paramedics are trained to use ultrasound to be able to diagnose AAA condition quicker and more accurately. This pilot is unique in the Netherlands and initiative from vascular surgeon Jerome van Brussel from the Sint Franciscus Hospital. He and his colleagues from other regional hospitals in Rotterdam…
HIMSS15 Marks Major Changes in Health IT
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The trend towards interoperability is palpable and what better way to underscore this positive movement than HIMSS 2015 conference which broke all time attendance records. FUJIFILM Sonosite is at the forefront of clinical workflow optimization and health IT interoperability. The need to connect modalities, especially Ultrasound, to EMRs and other Health IT systems is significant and FFSS is taking concrete steps to achieve this important goal. As evidenced by this direct quote, alignment amongst key industry stakeholders is the first step towards effective interoperability.
…
Glimpse Episode 4: Dr. Francis Yamazaki, Discusses Anesthesia
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Dr. Francis Yamazaki is a 30 year veteran in Anesthesiology. He is an Anesthesiologist with a cutting edge sports medicine group at Kerlan Jobe Surgery Center, LA. In this interview, he discusses the expectations of patients in the elite world of sports and the progression of anesthesia, particularly in the realm of nerve blocks. In particular how the progress of technology has improved safety for both patients and surgeons.
Game Day Ultrasound
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Courtesy of FUJIFILM Sonosite ANZ
The Fremantle Dockers Football team have been using on-field Ultrasound as a way to visualize and diagnose soft tissue injuries with their players. The Sonosite Edge portable Ultrasound system provides beautiful images of the ribs and soft tissues for "match-day" diagnosis. This information allows the physician and coach to make an informed decision of whether the player should be sent back out in the field. The needle guided visualization allows the needle to be correctly placed and therefore, reduces complications.
Interscalene Catheter with Google Glass by Dr. Brandon Winchester
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A cleverly recorded ultrasound-guided interscalene catheter procedure. The block video was made exclusively with the video camera and microphone built into Google Glass. Possibly Google Glass may not have been used to record an ultrasound-guided interscalene nerve block or continuous catheter procedure yet! Enjoy, and special thanks to Dr. Brandon Winchester for hosting it public on www.blockjocks.comDr. Brandon Winchester LINK to video :http://www.blockjocks.com/fiaY/interscalene–catheter-with-google–glass
Ultrasound Can Diagnose and Prevent Pneumothorax
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by Dr. Diku Mandavia
It's ironic that one of the most efficient ways to detect pneumothorax in patients is also one of the most effective ways to prevent two of its more common clinical causes.
While scenarios that might trigger the suspicion of pneumothorax are too numerous to list, screening for it has included the standard trinity of chest-imaging procedures: x-rays, tomography, and ultrasound.
Ultrasound not only helps to diagnose pneumothorax, but it can play a significant role in helping to prevent it. A leading procedural cause for it in hospital settings is a failed central line…