Joyce and Irwing Goldman Medical School, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
Clinical Research Center, Soroka University Medical Center and The Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
PLoS One. 2020 Nov 20;15(11):e0242084. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242084. eCollection 2020.
The benefits of Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) are well established in the literature. As it is an operator-dependent modality, the operator is required to be skilled in obtaining and interpreting images. Physicians who are not trained in POCUS attend courses to acquire the basics in this field. The effectiveness of such short POCUS courses on daily POCUS utilization is unknown. We sought to measure the change in POCUS utilization after practicing physicians attended short POCUS courses.
A 13-statements questionnaire was sent to physicians who attended POCUS courses conducted at the Soroka University Medical Center between the years 2014-2018. Our primary objective was to compare pre-course and post-course POCUS utilization. Secondary objectives included understanding the course graduates' perceived effect of POCUS on diagnosis, the frequency of ultrasound utilization and time to effective therapy.
212 residents and specialists received the questionnaire between 2014-2018; 116 responded (response rate of 54.7%). 72 (62.1%) participants were male, 64 (55.2%) were residents, 49 (42.3%) were specialists, 3 (2.5%) participants did not state their career status. 90 (77.6%) participants declared moderate use or multiple ultrasound use six months to four years from the POCUS course, compared to a rate of 'no use at all' and 'minimal use of 84.9% before the course. 98 participants [84.4% CI 77.8%, 91.0%] agree and strongly agree that a short POCUS course may improve diagnostic skills and 76.7% [CI 69.0%, 84.3%] agree and strongly agree that the POCUS course may shorten time to diagnosis and reduce morbidity.
Our short POCUS course significantly increases bedside ultrasound utilization by physicians from different fields even 4 years from course completion. Course graduates strongly agreed that incorporating POCUS into their clinical practice improves patient care. Such courses should be offered to residents and senior physicians to close the existing gap in POCUS knowledge among practicing physicians.
床边超声（POCUS）的益处已在文献中得到充分证实。由于它是一种依赖操作者的模式，因此操作者必须具备获取和解释图像的技能。未接受过 POCUS 培训的医生会参加课程以掌握该领域的基础知识。但是，这种短期 POCUS 课程对日常 POCUS 使用的效果尚不清楚。我们旨在测量接受短期 POCUS 课程培训的医生在日常实践中使用 POCUS 的变化。
我们向 2014 年至 2018 年期间在索罗卡大学医学中心参加 POCUS 课程的医生发送了一份包含 13 个陈述的调查问卷。我们的主要目标是比较课程前后 POCUS 的使用情况。次要目标包括了解课程毕业生对 POCUS 在诊断中的作用的看法、超声使用的频率以及达到有效治疗的时间。
2014 年至 2018 年期间，共有 212 名住院医师和专家收到了问卷，其中 116 名（应答率为 54.7%）作出了回应。72 名（62.1%）参与者为男性，64 名（55.2%）为住院医师，49 名（42.3%）为专家，3 名（2.5%）参与者未说明其职业状态。90 名（77.6%）参与者宣布在 POCUS 课程完成后的六个月至四年内，他们适度使用或多次使用超声，而在课程之前，“完全不使用”和“极少使用”的比例为 84.9%。98 名参与者[84.4%CI 77.8%，91.0%]表示同意和强烈同意短期 POCUS 课程可以提高诊断技能，而 76.7%[CI 69.0%，84.3%]表示同意和强烈同意 POCUS 课程可以缩短诊断时间并降低发病率。
即使在课程完成四年后，我们的短期 POCUS 课程也显著增加了来自不同领域的医生在床边使用超声的频率。课程毕业生强烈认为将 POCUS 纳入他们的临床实践可以改善患者的护理。应该向住院医师和高级医生提供此类课程，以缩小在职医生之间在 POCUS 知识方面的差距。
