Comparison of peer-assisted learning with expert-led learning in medical school ultrasound education: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: Teaching point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) to medical students is resource intensive. Peer-assisted learning, where the teacher can be a medical student, may be a feasible alternative to expert-led learning. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to compare the PoCUS performance assessments of medical students receiving peer-assisted vs expert-led learning.

Point-of-Care-ultrasound in undergraduate medical education: a scoping review of assessment methods.

Background: Point-of-Care-Ultrasound (POCUS) curricula have rapidly expanded in undergraduate medical education (UME). However, the assessments used in UME remain variable without national standards. This scoping review characterizes and categorizes current assessment methods using Miller's pyramid for skills, performance, and competence of POCUS in UME.

Canadian Association of Radiologists Diagnostic Imaging Referral Guidelines: a guideline development protocol.

Background: Comprehensive diagnostic imaging referral guidelines are an important tool to assist referring clinicians and radiologists in determining the safest and best-clinical-value diagnostic imaging study for their patients; the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) last produced its diagnostic imaging referral guidelines in 2012. In partnership with several national organizations, referring clinicians, radiologists, and patient and family advisors from across Canada, the association is redoing its referral guidelines using a new methodology for guideline development, and these guideline recommendations will be suited for integration into clinical decision support systems.

Methods: Expert panels of radiologists, referring clinicians and a patient advisor will work with epidemiologists at the CAR to create guidelines across 13 clinical sections.

Using Kane's framework to build an assessment tool for undergraduate medical student's clinical competency with point of care ultrasound.

Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a portable imaging technology used in clinical settings. There is a need for valid tools to assess clinical competency in POCUS in medical students. The primary aim of this study was to use Kane's framework to evaluate an interpretation-use argument (IUA) for an undergraduate POCUS assessment tool.

Test Characteristics of Chest Ultrasonography for Rib Fractures Following Blunt Chest Trauma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Study Objective: Chest ultrasonography has been reported as an accurate imaging modality and potentially superior to chest radiographs in diagnosing traumatic rib fractures. However, few studies have compared ultrasonography to the reference standard of computed tomography (CT), with no systematic reviews published on the topic to date. Our objective was to summarize the evidence comparing the test characteristics of chest ultrasonography to CT in diagnosing rib fractures.

Characterizing the biomechanical differences between novice and expert point-of-care ultrasound practitioners using a low-cost gyroscope and accelerometer integrated sensor: A pilot study.

Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an important diagnostic tool in acute care medicine; however, little is known about the biomechanical differences between novice and expert practitioners.

Methods: A low-cost ($50 CAD) gyroscope and accelerometer integrated sensor was assembled and affixed to an ultrasound probe. Seventeen participants, nine novices and eight experts, were recruited to perform three abdominal and four cardiac scans on a standardized patient.

Healthcare utilization and costs following non-fatal powdered and non-powdered firearm injuries for children and youth.

Little is known about the healthcare and economic burdens of non-fatal firearm injuries for children/youth beyond the initial admission. This study sought to estimate healthcare utilization and total direct healthcare costs of non-fatal powdered and non-powdered (air gun) firearm injuries 1-year post-injury. Using administrative data from 2003 to 2018 on all children/youth 0-24 years old in Ontario, Canada, a matched 1:2 cohort study was conducted to compare children/youth who experienced powdered and non-powdered firearm injuries with those who did not.

Comparison of Clerkship Directors' Expectations of Physical Examination Skills with Point-of-care Ultrasound Skills Using the RIME Framework.

The expectations of point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) in undergraduate clerkship at the University of Ottawa has not been described. We compared clerkship directors' expectations of physical examination skills with PoCUS skills, before and after completing the clerkship rotation. A pilot-tested, expert developed, bilingual on-line survey consisting of 15 questions was sent to all clerkship directors (23) in December 2019.

Firearm injury epidemiology in children and youth in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study.

Background And Objective: Despite firearms contributing to significant morbidity and mortality globally, firearm injury epidemiology is seldom described outside of the USA. We examined firearm injuries among youth in Canada, including weapon type, and intent.

Design: Population-based, pooled cross-sectional study using linked health administrative and demographic databases.

Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations: Secondary Prevention of Stroke Update 2020.

The 2020 update of the Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations (CSBPR) for the Secondary Prevention of Stroke includes current evidence-based recommendations and expert opinions intended for use by clinicians across a broad range of settings. They provide guidance for the prevention of ischemic stroke recurrence through the identification and management of modifiable vascular risk factors. Recommendations address triage, diagnostic testing, lifestyle behaviors, vaping, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, atrial fibrillation, other cardiac conditions, antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies, and carotid and vertebral artery disease.

A Value-Based Comparison of the Management of Ambulatory Respiratory Diseases in Walk-in Clinics, Primary Care Practices, and Emergency Departments: Protocol for a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: In Canada, 30%-60% of patients presenting to emergency departments are ambulatory. This category has been labeled as a source of emergency department overuse. Acting on the presumption that primary care practices and walk-in clinics offer equivalent care at a lower cost, governments have invested massively in improving access to these alternative settings in the hope that patients would present there instead when possible, thereby reducing the load on emergency departments.

Dissecting the Contemporary Clerkship: Theory-based Educational Trial of Videos Versus Lectures in Medical Student Education.

Background: Despite increasing use of the flipped classroom (FC) technique in undergraduate medical education, the benefit in learning outcomes over lectures is inconsistent. Best practices in preclass video design principles are rarely used, and it is unclear if videos can replace lectures in contemporary medical education.

Methods: We conducted a prospective quasi-experimental controlled educational study comparing theory-based videos to traditional lectures in a medical student curriculum.

Health human resources for emergency medicine: a framework for the future.

In June of 2016, the Collaborative Working Group (CWG) on the Future of Emergency Medicine presented its final report at the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) annual meeting in Quebec City. The CWG report made a number of recommendations concerning physician Human Health Resource (HHR) shortfalls in emergency medicine, specific changes for both the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC) and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CCFP-EM) training programs, HHR needs in rural and remote hospitals, future collaboration of the CCFP-EM and FRCPC programs, and directions for future research. All recommendations were endorsed by CAEP, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), and the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).

Canadian stroke best practice recommendations: Secondary prevention of stroke, sixth edition practice guidelines, update 2017.

The 2017 update of The Canadian Stroke Best Practice Recommendations for the Secondary Prevention of Stroke is a collection of current evidence-based recommendations intended for use by clinicians across a wide range of settings. The goal is to provide guidance for the prevention of ischemic stroke recurrence through the identification and management of modifiable vascular risk factors. Recommendations include those related to diagnostic testing, diet and lifestyle, smoking, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, antiplatelet and anticoagulant therapies, carotid artery disease, atrial fibrillation, and other cardiac conditions.

Regional Nerve Blocks For Hip and Femoral Neck Fractures in the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: Hip and femoral neck fractures are common in elderly patients, who are at an increased risk of complications if their pain is suboptimally managed. This systematic review seeks to determine if regional nerve blocks reduce pain, reduce the need for parenteral opiates, and reduce complications, compared to standard pain management with opiates, acetaminophen, or NSAIDs.

Data Sources: Systematic review of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials found 401 articles, of which nine were selected for inclusion.

Ultrasonography for the prediction of urological surgical intervention in patients with renal colic.

Context: There are no clear indicators of which ultrasound findings in an emergency department (ED) renal colic population are predictive of urological surgical intervention.

Objective: To determine the sonographic findings of renal colic that predict surgical intervention.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 500 consecutive ED patients with a diagnosis of renal colic that had ultrasonography (performed by radiology) during their ED visit.

Can severe aortic stenosis be identified by emergency physicians when interpreting a simplified two-view echocardiogram obtained by trained echocardiographers?

Background: Aortic stenosis (AS) is a common valve problem that causes significant morbidity and mortality. The goal of this study was to determine whether an emergency physician (EP) could determine severe AS by reviewing only two B-mode echocardiographic views (parasternal long axis (PSLA) and parasternal short axis (PSSA)) obtained by trained echocardiographers.

Methods: A convenience sample of 60 patients with no AS, mild/moderate AS or severe AS was selected for health record and echocardiogram review.