Development of the Children's ACuTe UltraSound (CACTUS) point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)-accredited training in the UK: a descriptive study.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an established, evidence-supported tool that can be used in neonatal and paediatric medicine, offering clinicians immediate diagnostic insights, assessment of interventions and improved safety profiles and success rate of various procedures. Its effective use requires an established education programme, governance and standardisation to ensure competence in this skill. While adult clinical practice has established POCUS training protocols, this had not been replicated in paediatrics.

Point-of-care ultrasound as a diagnostic tool in respiratory assessment in awake paediatric patients: a comparative study.

Background: Chest X-ray (CXR) has typically been the main investigation in children with suspected respiratory pathology. Recent advances in lung point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) have shown the potential for it to be comparative, if not better, than CXR. The objective of this study was to compare CXR with lung POCUS in children with respiratory illness in a ward-based setting at a paediatric teaching hospital.

Fifteen-minute consultation: Airway management in the acutely unwell child requiring intubation for the general paediatrician.

Emergency endotracheal intubation is a high risk procedure in acutely unwell children and is commonly jointly managed by paediatricians and anaesthetists. This article aims to develop a shared understanding of the practicalities and language around the risk factors for difficult intubation and management of failed intubation, including the approach to situations where you cannot intubate and or cannot ventilate, to improve communication and team working between these dynamic interdisciplinary teams.

Trismus in the paediatric population.

Trismus is a rare presentation affecting neonates, children, and adults. In newborns there are serious implications, with potential to affect feeding, cause airway problems, and make intubation difficult. Causes of trismus seen in the paediatric patient are discussed in this review article; they are divided into intra- and extra-articular types.

A protective effect after clearance of orthotopic rat hepatocellular carcinoma by nanosecond pulsed electric fields.

Strategies for treating liver cancer using radiation, chemotherapy combinations and tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting specific mutations have provided longer survival times, yet multiple treatments are often needed and recurrences with new malignant phenotypes are not uncommon. New and innovative treatments are undoubtedly needed to successfully treat liver cancer. Over the last decade, nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) have shown promise in pre-clinical studies; however, these have been limited to treatment of skin cancers or xenographs in mice.

Real-time ultrasound imaging of irreversible electroporation in a porcine liver model adequately characterizes the zone of cellular necrosis.

Background:   Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a largely non-thermal method for the ablation of solid tumours. The ability of ultrasound (US) to measure the size of the IRE ablation zone was studied in a porcine liver model.

Methods:   Three normal pig livers were treated in vivo with a total of 22 ablations using IRE.

Targeted tissue ablation with nanosecond pulses.

In-vivo porcine studies on the effect of nanosecond high voltage pulses on liver tissue have shown that cell death can be induced in well-defined tissue volumes without damaging collagen-predominant structures. Comparison of the experimental results with the results of a three-dimensional finite element model allowed us to determine the threshold electric field for cell death. For 30, 100 nanosecond long pulses this was found to be in the range from 12 to 15 kV/cm.

Electromagnetic energy sources in surgery.

The biophysics, mechanism of actions, applications, benefits and complications of electromagnetic (EM) energy-based surgical instruments, and their current use are reviewed. Understanding the mechanism of action, tissue effects, and appropriate applications of EM devices is critical to achieving an optimal surgical outcome. Although a more diverse range of EM devices are used in human medicine, current use in veterinary medicine is limited to conventional electrosurgery and CO(2) lasers.

Effect of computed tomography display window and image plane on diagnostic certainty for characteristics of dysplastic elbow joints in dogs.

Objective: To test the effects of computed tomography (CT) image plane and window settings on diagnostic certainty for CT characteristics associated with dysplastic elbow joints (elbow joint dysplasia) in dogs and to provide optimal display guidelines for these CT characteristics.

Sample Population: CT images of 50 dysplastic elbow joints from 49 lame dogs and 10 elbow joints from 5 sound dogs.

Procedures: CT image data were obtained in transverse, sagittal, and dorsal planes.

Effect of 9 mm tibial tuberosity advancement on cranial tibial translation in the canine cranial cruciate ligament-deficient stifle.

Objective: To assess the effect of 9 mm tibial tuberosity advancement (TTA) on cranial tibial translation (CTT) in a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL)-deficient canine stifle model.

Study Design: In vitro cadaveric study.

Animals: Canine pelvic limbs (n=12).

Endoscopic-assisted lumbosacral foraminotomy in the dog.

Objective: To determine if endoscopic-assisted foraminotomy significantly increased the area of the L7-S1 intervertebral foramen and if, over 12 weeks, stenosis would occur.

Study Design: Prospective, experimental study.

Animal Population: Six clinically normal, 22-29 kg, adult dogs.

One educator's perspective on the role of instructional technology in veterinary surgical education.

A brief overview of the history of instructional technology (IT) use in veterinary surgery education is followed by an assessment of the state of the art in this discipline in the United States. Comments on assessment of teaching tools and the need for a concerted effort at future assessments are made in light of published information regarding the success of alternative learning methods in education in other disciplines. A few final comments are shared about discipline specific technology demands in surgical education and the issue of copyrights versus sharing resources.

Use of computed tomographic densitometry to quantify contrast enhancement of compressive soft tissues in the canine lumbosacral vertebral canal.

Objectives: To evaluate computed tomography (CT) densitometry as a technique for quantifying contrast enhancement of compressive soft tissues in the canine lumbosacral vertebral canal and to determine whether the degree of contrast enhancement can be used to help predict tissue type or histopathologic characteristics.

Animals: 29 large breed dogs with lumbosacral stenosis.

Procedure: Contrast-enhanced CT of L5-S3 was performed by use of a previously described protocol.