A Multicenter, Prospective Study Comparing Subxiphoid and Parasternal Views During Brief Echocardiography: Effect on Image Quality, Acquisition Time, and Visualized Anatomy.

Background: Recent literature has suggested echocardiography (echo) may prolong pauses in chest compressions during cardiac arrest.

Objectves: We sought to determine the impact of the sonographic approach (subxiphoid [SX] vs. parasternal long [PSL]) on time to image completion, image quality, and visualization of cardiac anatomy during echo, as performed during Advanced Cardiac Life Support.

Impact of point-of-care ultrasound on the diagnosis and treatment of patients in rural Uganda.

Ultrasound is increasingly used by physicians at the bedside to diagnose and treat a variety of conditions and is particularly useful in the resource-limited setting. The purpose of this study was to determine whether point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) performed by physicians changed the diagnosis or treatment of patients in mobile clinics in rural Uganda. Patients presenting to mobile clinics in Uganda were assessed by physicians and, when appropriate, POCUS was performed.

Effectiveness of a Multimodal Digital Psychotherapy Platform for Adult Depression: A Naturalistic Feasibility Study.

Background: Although psychotherapy is one of the most efficacious and effective treatments for depression, limited accessibility to trained providers markedly limits access to care. In an attempt to overcome this obstacle, several platforms seeking to provide these services using digital modalities (eg, video, text, and chat) have been developed. However, the use of these modalities individually poses barriers to intervention access and acceptability.

Solar-Powered Point-of-Care Sonography: Our Himalayan Experience.

The benefits of sonography utilization in low-resource communities has been thoroughly demonstrated in the literature. As ultrasound units have become smaller and more portable, the feasibility of bringing these imaging devices into more remote areas is becoming a reality. One factor that limits ultrasound use in austere environments is battery life.

A framework for examining the function of digital health technologies for weight management.

Research is rapidly extending its focus to develop and evaluate weight management interventions that incorporate eHealth technologies. Comparative effectiveness of eHealth interventions is partly limited by the extensive heterogeneity in intervention design, variation in use of eHealth tools, and expanding development of novel tools to promote weight management. We closely examined, characterized, and categorized the use and function of eHealth tools across a wide range of eHealth interventions for weight management in order to first create a novel schematic framework for eHealth interventions and, second, to evaluate eHealth interventions using this framework.

An Inexpensive and Easy Ultrasound Phantom: A Novel Use for SPAM.

Ultrasound models, commonly referred to as "phantoms," are simulation tools for ultrasound education. Commercially produced phantoms are available, but there are "homemade" alternatives such as raw poultry and gelatin molds. Precooked, processed meat, better known as SPAM (Hormel Foods Corporation, Austin, MN), can be used as an ultrasound phantom to teach several ultrasound applications.

Dabigatran Versus Warfarin for Atrial Fibrillation in Real-World Clinical Practice: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Trial data for the benefits and risks of dabigatran versus warfarin in the treatment of nonvalvular atrial fibrillation are lacking. We sought to review real-world observational evidence for the comparative effectiveness and safety of these agents.

Methods And Results: A systematic search of multiple databases was conducted from first available date to March 10, 2015 for longitudinal, observational studies comparing dabigatran with warfarin.

Cutaneous manifestation of metastatic infantile choriocarcinoma.

Infantile choriocarcinoma is a highly malignant rare germ cell tumor that arises from the placenta. Simultaneous intraplacental choriocarcinoma involving both mother and infant is extremely rare. Cutaneous metastasis in infantile choriocarcinoma is even rarer with only a few case reports available.

Diagnostic ultrasonography for peripheral vascular emergencies.

Over the past decade, emergency and critical care physicians have been empowered with the ability to use bedside ultrasonography to assist in the evaluation and management of a variety of emergent conditions. Today a single health care provider at the bedside with Duplex ultrasound technology can evaluate peripheral vascular calamities that once required significant time and a variety of health care personnel for the diagnosis. This article highlights peripheral thromboembolic disease, aneurysm, pseudoaneurysm, and arterial occlusion in the acute care setting.

Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis of the odontoid process in a child with torticollis.

Acute vertebral osteomyelitis is rare in the pediatric population. Its presentation may be subtle and without constitutional manifestations. We present a case of osteomyelitis of the odontoid process.