University of Colorado School of Medicine & Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora.
University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Ohio.
Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken). 2024 Aug;76(8):1116-1120. doi: 10.1002/acr.25337. Epub 2024 May 7.
Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) is widely used in adult rheumatology practice for diagnosis of arthritis and procedural guidance; however, it is not yet common practice in pediatric rheumatology. MSUS is advantageous to the pediatric population because it lacks radiation and eliminates need for sedation. This study aims to assess interest in, access to, and barriers to MSUS training in pediatric rheumatology fellowship programs in North America.
A survey was developed by pediatric rheumatology providers with experience in medical and/or MSUS education and distributed via REDCap anonymously in March 2022 (Supplementary Material). Eligible participants included current and recently graduated (<1 year) pediatric rheumatology fellows at a North American program. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses using design-based Pearson chi-squared tests were performed.
Overall response rate was 78% (88/113), and 75% reported some form of MSUS training during fellowship. Only 36% indicated their program had a formal MSUS curriculum. Of those with MSUS training, 23% reported adult-only MSUS education. Eighty-four percent felt MSUS would be beneficial to their career. Major barriers to MSUS training included lack of MSUS-trained faculty, lack of time, and lack of hands-on MSUS sessions. Those who had access to MSUS training were significantly more interested in MSUS than those without (P = 0.0036).
This study demonstrates that North American pediatric rheumatology fellows have a strong interest in learning MSUS, but they face significant challenges in accessing MSUS training (lack of MSUS-trained faculty, time, and access to hands-on training). MSUS should be incorporated into fellowship curriculum; however, implementation remains a challenge.
肌肉骨骼超声（MSUS）在成人风湿病学实践中广泛用于关节炎的诊断和程序指导；然而，在儿科风湿病学中尚未普及。MSUS 对儿科人群有益，因为它没有辐射，并且不需要镇静。本研究旨在评估北美儿科风湿病学研究员培训计划对 MSUS 的兴趣、获取途径和障碍。
由具有医学和/或 MSUS 教育经验的儿科风湿病学提供者开发了一项调查，并通过 REDCap 在 2022 年 3 月匿名发布（补充材料）。合格的参与者包括北美计划中的当前和最近毕业（<1 年）的儿科风湿病学研究员。采用基于设计的 Pearson 卡方检验进行描述性统计和双变量分析。
总体回复率为 78%（88/113），75%的人在研究员期间接受过某种形式的 MSUS 培训。只有 36%的人表示他们的计划有正式的 MSUS 课程。在接受过 MSUS 培训的人中，23%的人接受了成人专用的 MSUS 教育。84%的人认为 MSUS 将对他们的职业生涯有益。MSUS 培训的主要障碍包括缺乏 MSUS 培训的教师、缺乏时间和缺乏实际的 MSUS 课程。那些能够接受 MSUS 培训的人对 MSUS 明显更感兴趣，而那些无法接受培训的人则不感兴趣（P = 0.0036）。
本研究表明，北美儿科风湿病学研究员对学习 MSUS 有浓厚的兴趣，但在获得 MSUS 培训方面面临重大挑战（缺乏 MSUS 培训的教师、时间和获得实践培训的机会）。MSUS 应纳入研究员课程；然而，实施仍然是一个挑战。
