Training, experience and perceptions of point of care ultrasound amongst internal medicine trainees: implications for training, curriculum development and service delivery.

Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) has revolutionised modern day medicine and has widespread utilisation throughout healthcare settings. Despite the availability of ultrasounds, there are no requirements for internal medicine trainees (IMTs) to undergo any form of POCUS training. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and experience of IMTs of POCUS.

Thoracic ultrasound in guiding management of respiratory disease.

Introduction: The use of ultrasound in respiratory disease has evolved substantially over the past two decades. From a test done to confirm the safe site of pleural fluid drainage, thoracic ultrasound has become a point-of-care test that guides the management of patients on respiratory wards, in clinics and endoscopy.

Areas Covered: This review overviews the process of ultrasound examination in the chest.

Training, experience, and perceptions of chest tube insertion by higher speciality trainees: implications for training, patient safety, and service delivery.

Background: Seldinger Chest Tube Insertion (CTI) is a high acuity low occurrence procedure and remains a core capability for UK physician higher speciality trainee's (HST). A multitude of factors have emerged which may affect the opportunity of generalists to perform CTI. In view of which, this paper sought to establish the current experiences, attitudes, training, and knowledge of medical HST performing Seldinger CTI in acute care hospitals in the Peninsula deanery.

The Short Long Antibiotic Course for Pleural Infection Management (SLIM) randomised controlled open-label trial.

Introduction: Based on expert opinion, the length of antibiotic treatment for pleural infection in adults is typically recommended to be a minimum of 4 weeks. This clinical trial aimed to assess whether shorter antibiotic courses lead to more treatment failures than standard longer courses.

Methods: In an open-label randomised controlled trial, adult patients with pleural infection who were medically treated and stabilised within 14 days of admission were randomised to either a short antibiotic course (total course 14-21 days) or a long antibiotic course (total course 28-42 days).

Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Sampling of Centrally Located Intrapulmonary Tumors Provides Suitable Material for Diagnostic and Molecular Testing.

Background: Curvilinear endobronchial ultrasound transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) is a key diagnostic and staging procedure for patients with suspected lung cancer. However, sampling centrally located intrapulmonary tumors is feasible but less well established.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the diagnostic utility of EBUS-TBNA in patients who underwent sampling of centrally located intrapulmonary tumors.