New International Guidelines and Consensus on the Use of Lung Ultrasound.

Following the innovations and new discoveries of the last 10 years in the field of lung ultrasound (LUS), a multidisciplinary panel of international LUS experts from six countries and from different fields (clinical and technical) reviewed and updated the original international consensus for point-of-care LUS, dated 2012. As a result, a total of 20 statements have been produced. Each statement is complemented by guidelines and future developments proposals.

Prehospital FAST reduces time to admission and operative treatment: a prospective, randomized, multicenter trial.

Background: The focused assessment with sonography in trauma (FAST) exam is an established trauma care diagnostic procedure. Ultrasound performed during prehospital care can improve early treatment and management of the patients. In this prospective randomized clinical trial, we wanted to assess whether a pre-hospital FAST (p-FAST) influences pre-hospital strategy and the time to operative treatment.

Multi-organ point-of-care ultrasound for COVID-19 (PoCUS4COVID): international expert consensus.

COVID-19 has caused great devastation in the past year. Multi-organ point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) including lung ultrasound (LUS) and focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) as a clinical adjunct has played a significant role in triaging, diagnosis and medical management of COVID-19 patients. The expert panel from 27 countries and 6 continents with considerable experience of direct application of PoCUS on COVID-19 patients presents evidence-based consensus using GRADE methodology for the quality of evidence and an expedited, modified-Delphi process for the strength of expert consensus.

[German recommendations on lung and thoracic ultrasonography in patients with COVID-19].

Lung and chest ultrasound are further examination modalities in addition to computed tomography and laboratory diagnostics in patients with COVID-19. It extends the clinical-physical examination because it can examine lung surface sensitively. Lung surface pattern changes have been found in sonograms of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia and during the course of the disease.

Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Bedside General and Cardiac Ultrasonography in the Evaluation of Critically Ill Patients-Part II: Cardiac Ultrasonography.

Objective: To establish evidence-based guidelines for the use of bedside cardiac ultrasound, echocardiography, in the ICU and equivalent care sites.

Methods: Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system was used to rank the "levels" of quality of evidence into high (A), moderate (B), or low (C) and to determine the "strength" of recommendations as either strong (strength class 1) or conditional/weak (strength class 2), thus generating six "grades" of recommendations (1A-1B-1C-2A-2B-2C). Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation was used for all questions with clinically relevant outcomes.

Social media to supplement point-of-care ultrasound courses: the "sandwich e-learning" approach. A randomized trial.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POC-US) is gaining importance in almost all specialties. E-learning has been used to teach theoretical knowledge and pattern recognition. As social media are universally available, they can be utilized for educational purposes.

Telemetry-assisted early detection of STEMI in patients with atypical symptoms by paramedic-performed 12-lead ECG with subsequent cardiological analysis.

Objectives: ECG is an essential diagnostic tool in patients with acute coronary syndrome. We aimed to determine how many patients presenting with atypical symptoms for an acute myocardial infarction show ST-segment elevations on prehospital ECG. We also aimed to study the feasibility of telemetric-assisted prehospital ECG analysis.

Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Bedside General and Cardiac Ultrasonography in the Evaluation of Critically Ill Patients-Part I: General Ultrasonography.

Objective: To establish evidence-based guidelines for the use of bedside ultrasound by intensivists and specialists in the ICU and equivalent care sites for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes for organs of the chest, abdomen, pelvis, neck, and extremities.

Methods: The Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation system was used to determine the strength of recommendations as either strong or conditional/weak and to rank the "levels" of quality of evidence into high (A), moderate (B), or low (C) and thus generating six "grades" of recommendation (1A-1B-1C-2A-2B-2C). Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) was used for all questions with clinically relevant outcomes.

Influence of case-based e-learning on students' performance in point-of-care ultrasound courses: a randomized trial.

Background: Theoretical knowledge, visual perception, and sensorimotor skills are key elements in ultrasound education. Classroom-based presentations are used routinely to teach theoretical knowledge, whereas visual perception and sensorimotor skills typically require hands-on training (HT). We aimed to compare the effect of classroom-based lectures versus a case-based e-learning (based on clinical cases only) on the hands-on performance of trainees during an emergency ultrasound course.

[Value of lung ultrasound in emergency and intensive care medicine].

Lung ultrasound has traditionally been limited to evaluation of pleural effusion and as guidance for thoracocentesis. However, in recent years, thoracic ultrasound became an increasingly valuable diagnostic tool in emergency and intensive care medicine. The relative easy use of bedside examination made chest ultrasonography diagnostic valuable additional tool to be used in any clinical acute context.

[Which learning methods are expected for ultrasound training? Blended learning on trial].

Background: Current teaching methods in graduate and postgraduate training often include frontal presentations. Especially in ultrasound education not only knowledge but also sensomotory and visual skills need to be taught. This requires new learning methods.

Analysis of trainees' memory after classroom presentations of didactical ultrasound courses.

Background: Emergency ultrasound is gaining importance in medical education. Widespread teaching methods are frontal presentations and hands-on training. The primary goal of our study was to evaluate the impact of frontal presentations (PS) by analysis of retained knowledge rate (RKR) and learning load (LL).

International evidence-based recommendations for focused cardiac ultrasound.

Background: Focused cardiac ultrasound (FoCUS) is a simplified, clinician-performed application of echocardiography that is rapidly expanding in use, especially in emergency and critical care medicine. Performed by appropriately trained clinicians, typically not cardiologists, FoCUS ascertains the essential information needed in critical scenarios for time-sensitive clinical decision making. A need exists for quality evidence-based review and clinical recommendations on its use.

Does the integration of personalized ultrasound change patient management in critical care medicine? Observational trials.

Objective. To test the influence of personalized ultrasound (PersUS) on patient management in critical care. Design of the Study.

Thorax, trachea, and lung ultrasonography in emergency and critical care medicine: assessment of an objective structured training concept.

Background and Study objective. Focused lung ultrasound (LUS) examinations are important tools in critical care medicine. There is evidence that LUS can be used for the detection of acute thoracic lesions.

Assessment of a new e-learning system on thorax, trachea, and lung ultrasound.

Background. Lung ultrasound has become an emerging tool in acute and critical care medicine. Combined theoretical and hands-on training has been required to teach ultrasound diagnostics.

Assessment of a low-cost ultrasound pericardiocentesis model.

Introduction. The use of ultrasound during resuscitation is emphasized in the latest European resuscitation council guidelines of 2013 to identify treatable conditions such as pericardial tamponade. The recommended standard treatment of tamponade in various guidelines is pericardiocentesis.

[Basics of emergency ultrasound].

Focused ultrasound is a key methodology of critical care medicine. By referencing few ultrasound differential diagnosis, it is possible to identifying in real-time the reason of the critical state of a patient. Therefore typical focused ultrasound protocols were developed.

[Lung ultrasound in acute and critical care medicine].

The development of modern critical care lung ultrasound is based on the classical representation of anatomical structures and the need for the assessment of specific sonography artefacts and phenomena. The air and fluid content of the lungs is interpreted using few typical artefacts and phenomena, with which the most important differential diagnoses can be made. According to a recent international consensus conference these include lung sliding, lung pulse, B-lines, lung point, reverberation artefacts, subpleural consolidations and intrapleural fluid collections.

International evidence-based recommendations for point-of-care lung ultrasound.

Background: The purpose of this study is to provide evidence-based and expert consensus recommendations for lung ultrasound with focus on emergency and critical care settings.

Methods: A multidisciplinary panel of 28 experts from eight countries was involved. Literature was reviewed from January 1966 to June 2011.