Mahmood Naveed, Souleymane Mamdouh, Rajendram Rajkumar, Ghazi Amro M T, Kharal Mubashar, AlQahtani Mohammad
Department of Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Abdulaziz International Medical Research Center, Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
College of Medicine, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University of Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
J Saudi Heart Assoc. 2020 Nov 9;32(4):464-471. doi: 10.37616/2212-5043.1196. eCollection 2020.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) put a spotlight on focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS). However, the spectra of cardiac disease, and the resources available for investigation vary internationally. The applicability of FoCUS to internal medicine (IM) and critical care medicine (CCM) practice in Saudi Arabia and their current use of FoCUS are unknown.
To determine the applicability of FoCUS to IM and CCM practice in Saudi Arabia and quantify the residents' current proficiency, accreditation and use of FoCUS.
A questionnaire was distributed to the residents in IM and CCM at our institution to determine their proficiency, use of FoCUS, and perceptions of its applicability.
In total, 110 residents (IM 100/108; CCM 10/10) participated (Response rate 93.2%) and reported that FoCUS was very applicable to their practice, most specifically for pericardial effusion, right heart strain, and left ventricular function. Two IM residents had received postgraduate training, ten used FoCUS regularly, none were accredited and overall self-reported proficiency was poor. In contrast all CCM residents had received postgraduate training and reported regular use of FoCUS. Two were accredited.
Whilst FoCUS is applicable to IM practice in Saudi Arabia, significant skills gaps exist. The skills gap in CCM is lower but unaccredited practice is common. Our residents' responses were similar to those from Canada. Thus, international standardization of FoCUS training could be considered.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）使人们关注到床旁心脏超声（FoCUS）。然而，心脏病的种类以及可用于检查的资源在国际上存在差异。FoCUS在沙特阿拉伯的内科（IM）和重症医学（CCM）实践中的适用性以及他们目前对FoCUS的使用情况尚不清楚。
确定FoCUS在沙特阿拉伯内科和重症医学实践中的适用性，并量化住院医师目前对FoCUS的熟练程度、认证情况和使用情况。
向我们机构的内科和重症医学住院医师发放问卷，以确定他们对FoCUS的熟练程度、使用情况以及对其适用性的看法。
共有110名住院医师（内科100/108；重症医学10/10）参与调查（回复率93.2%），他们报告称FoCUS对他们的实践非常适用，尤其是在心包积液、右心劳损和左心室功能方面。两名内科住院医师接受过研究生培训，十名经常使用FoCUS，无人获得认证，总体自我报告的熟练程度较差。相比之下，所有重症医学住院医师都接受过研究生培训，并报告经常使用FoCUS。两人获得认证。
虽然FoCUS适用于沙特阿拉伯的内科实践，但仍存在显著的技能差距。重症医学方面的技能差距较小，但未经认证的实践很常见。我们住院医师的回答与加拿大的类似。因此，可以考虑对FoCUS培训进行国际标准化。
