Comparison of 6 handheld ultrasound devices by point-of-care ultrasound experts: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has emerged as an essential bedside tool for clinicians, but lack of access to ultrasound equipment has been a top barrier to POCUS use. Recently, several handheld ultrasound devices ("handhelds") have become available, and clinicians are seeking data to guide purchasing decisions. Few comparative studies of different handhelds have been done.

Comparison of four handheld point-of-care ultrasound devices by expert users.

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is rapidly becoming ubiquitous across healthcare specialties. This is due to several factors including its portability, immediacy of results to guide clinical decision-making, and lack of radiation exposure to patients. The recent growth of handheld ultrasound devices has improved access to ultrasound for many clinicians.

Recommendations on the Use of Ultrasound Guidance for Central and Peripheral Vascular Access in Adults: A Position Statement of the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Preprocedure: 1)We recommend that providers should be familiar with the operation of their specific ultrasound machine prior to initiation of a vascular access procedure. 2)We recommend that providers should use a high-frequency linear transducer with a sterile sheath and sterile gel to perform vascular access procedures. 3)We recommend that providers should use two-dimensional ultrasound to evaluate for anatomical variations and absence of vascular thrombosis during preprocedural site selection.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Hospitalists: A Position Statement of the Society of Hospital Medicine.

Many hospitalists incorporate point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) into their daily practice to answer specific diagnostic questions or to guide performance of invasive bedside procedures. However, standards for hospitalists in POCUS training and assessment are not yet established. Most internal medicine residency training programs, the major pipeline for incoming hospitalists, have only recently begun to incorporate POCUS in their curricula.

Inferior vena cava diameter change after intravenous furosemide in patients diagnosed with acute decompensated heart failure.

Purpose: Measurement of the inferior vena cava (IVC) diameters may improve decision-making for patients hospitalized with acute decompensated heart failure. Nevertheless, little is known about how the IVC is affected by loop diuretics. We sought to determine if bolus infusions of intravenous furosemide affect IVC diameters measured by hand-carried ultrasonography.

Is exercise used as medicine? Association of meeting strength training guidelines and functional limitations among older US adults.

Objective: To determine the association between meeting strength training guidelines (≥2 times per week) and the presence of functional limitations among older adults.

Methods: This cross-sectional study used data from older adult participants (N=6763) of the National Health Interview Survey conducted in 2011 in the United States.

Results: Overall, 16.

Hand-carried echocardiography by hospitalists: a randomized trial.

Background: Hospitalists can use hand-carried echocardiography for accurate point-of-care information, but patient outcome data for its application are sparse.

Methods: We performed an unblinded, parallel-group randomized trial between July 2008 and March 2009 at one teaching hospital in Chicago, Illinois. We randomly assigned adult general medicine inpatients referred for standard echocardiography with indications investigatable by hand-carried echocardiography to care guided by hand-carried echocardiography or usual care.

Diagnostic accuracy of hospitalist-performed hand-carried ultrasound echocardiography after a brief training program.

Background: The duration of training needed for hospitalists to accurately perform hand-carried ultrasound echocardiography (HCUE) is uncertain.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of HCUE performed by hospitalists after a 27-hour training program.

Design: Prospective cohort study.