Ultrasound Journal最新文献

{"title":"Integrating a self-directed ultrasound curriculum for the internal medicine clerkship.","authors":"Emily Signor, John Gerstenberger, Jennifer Cotton, Jorie Colbert-Getz, Katie Lappé","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00367-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00367-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Incorporating ultrasound into the clinical curriculum of undergraduate medical education has been limited by a need for faculty support. Without integration into the clinical learning environment, ultrasound skills become a stand-alone skill and may decline by the time of matriculation into residency. A less time intensive ultrasound curriculum is needed to preserve skills acquired in preclinical years. We aimed to create a self-directed ultrasound curriculum to support and assess students' ability to acquire ultrasound images and to utilize ultrasound to inform clinical decision-making.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Third year students completed the self-directed ultrasound curriculum during their required internal medicine clerkship. Students used Butterfly iQ+ portable ultrasound probes. The curriculum included online modules that focused on clinical application of ultrasound as well as image acquisition technique. Students were graded on image acquisition quality and setting, a patient write-up focused on clinical decision-making, and a multiple-choice quiz. Student feedback was gathered with an end-of-course survey. Faculty time was tracked.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One hundred and ten students participated. Students averaged 1.79 (scale 0-2; SD = 0.21) on image acquisition, 78% (SD = 15%) on the quiz, and all students passed the patient write-up. Most reported the curriculum improved their clinical reasoning (72%), learning of pathophysiology (69%), and patient care (55%). Faculty time to create the curriculum was approximately 45 h. Faculty time to grade student assignments was 38.5 h per year.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Students were able to demonstrate adequate image acquisition, use of ultrasound to aid in clinical decision-making, and interpretation of ultrasound pathology with no in-person faculty instruction. Additionally, students reported improved learning of pathophysiology, clinical reasoning, and rapport with patients. The self-directed curriculum required less faculty time than prior descriptions of ultrasound curricula in the clinical years and could be considered at institutions that have limited faculty support.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10914648/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140040573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Point-of-care ultrasound to inform antiviral treatment initiation in chronic hepatitis B virus infection in low-resource settings - the PUSH protocol.","authors":"Tom Heller, Veronica Phiri, Tapiwa Kumwenda, Wongani Mzumara, Michael Jeffrey Vinikoor, Ethel Rambiki, Claudia Wallrauch","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00369-2","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00369-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) is prevalent worldwide and most related deaths occur in low-resource settings. Antiviral treatment of CHB is indicated in those with significant liver disease and markers of viral replication. However, recommended diagnostics such as elastography (a non-invasive imaging measure of fibrosis/cirrhosis) or HBV viral load are often lacking in these settings, which creates barriers to treatment. Point-of-care clinical B-mode ultrasound (US) has potential to overcome implementation barriers in HBV care programs in low-resource settings.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We describe a Point-of-care US protocol for Hepatitis (\"PUSH\") to check for signs of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma in the liver of people with CHB. We performed a prospective observational study applying the protocol, first by trainee clinicians and then by trainers, in consecutive patients referred to our clinic for CHB treatment eligibility assessment. All patients additionally underwent physical examination, liver function tests (LFTs) and platelet counts. We describe the PUSH training approach and performance of the protocol.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Four clinicians and 111 adult patients with HBV infection were included in the development of PUSH. Using US, liver complications of HBV were documented in 31 (27.9%) patients; including cirrhosis in 15 patients, HCC with cirrhosis in 13, and HCC without cirrhosis in 3. Patients with sonographic findings had significantly more clinical symptoms also their LFTs were higher and more frequently indicative for HBV treatment. Of 28 patients with sonographic diagnosis of cirrhosis, 23 (82.1%) showed a nodular liver surface, 24 (85.7%) a coarse echotexture, 20 (71.4%) scarce vessels, and 9 (32.1%) an enlarged caudate lobe. Overall concordance of the findings between assessment of trainees and experienced sonographers was high, ranging from 90 to 95%; trainees were not blinded to clinical and laboratory findings.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Ultrasound can facilitate same-day initiation of antiviral therapy for chronic HBV monoinfection in a resource-limited setting and a streamlined protocol-driven liver ultrasound can be feasibly used by front line clinicians managing HBV.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10912069/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140022824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Right ventricular free wall longitudinal strain during weaning from mechanical ventilation using high-flow or conventional oxygen treatment: a pilot study.","authors":"Eleni Xourgia, Apostolos Koronaios, Anastasia Kotanidou, Ilias I Siempos, Christina Routsi","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00358-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00358-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10899142/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139973845","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Medico-legal risks of point-of-care ultrasound: a closed-case analysis of Canadian Medical Protective Association medico-legal cases.","authors":"Ross Prager, Derek Wu, Gary Garber, P J Finestone, Cathy Zang, Rana Aslanova, Robert Arntfield","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00364-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00364-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become a core diagnostic tool for many physicians due to its portability, excellent safety profile, and diagnostic utility. Despite its growing use, the potential risks of POCUS use should be considered by providers. We analyzed the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) repository to identify medico-legal cases arising from the use of POCUS.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We retrospectively searched the CMPA closed-case repository for cases involving diagnostic POCUS between January 1st, 2012 and December 31st, 2021. Cases included civil-legal actions, medical regulatory authority (College) cases, and hospital complaints. Patient and physician demographics, outcomes, reason for complaint, and expert-identified contributing factors were analyzed.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>From 2012 to 2021, there were 58,626 closed medico-legal cases in the CMPA repository with POCUS determined to be a contributing factor for medico-legal action in 15 cases; in all cases the medico-legal outcome was decided against the physicians. The most common reasons for patient complaints were diagnostic error, deficient assessment, and failure to perform a test or intervention. Expert analysis of these cases determined the most common contributing factors for medico-legal action was failure to perform POCUS when indicated (7 cases, 47%); however, medico-legal action also resulted from diagnostic error, incorrect sonographic approach, deficient assessment, inadequate skill, inadequate documentation, or inadequate reporting.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although the most common reason associated with the medico-legal action in these cases is failure to perform POCUS when indicated, inappropriate use of POCUS may lead to medico-legal action. Due to limitations in granularity of data, the exact number of civil-legal, College cases, and hospital complaints for each contributing factor is unavailable. To enhance patient care and mitigate risk for providers, POCUS should be carefully integrated with other clinical information, performed by providers with adequate skill, and carefully documented.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10891006/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139940863","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Test characteristics of point-of-care ultrasonography in patients with acute kidney injury.","authors":"Mathilde Gaudreau-Simard, Tana Saiyin, Matthew D F Mcinnes, Sydney Ruller, Edward G Clark, Krista Wooller, Elaine Kilabuk, Alan J Forster, Michael Y Woo","doi":"10.1186/s13089-023-00352-3","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-023-00352-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Acute kidney injury is a common disorder that is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Point-of-care ultrasonography (PoCUS) is an imaging modality performed at the bedside and is used to assess for obstructive causes of acute kidney injury. Little is known about the test characteristics of PoCUS in patients with acute kidney injury.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>Our primary objective was to describe the test characteristics of PoCUS for the detection of hydronephrosis in patients presenting with acute kidney injury at our centre. Our secondary objective was to describe the current rate of use of PoCUS for this indication.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In total, 7873 patients were identified between June 1, 2019 and April 30, 2021, with 4611 meeting inclusion criteria. Of these, 94 patients (2%) underwent PoCUS, and 65 patients underwent both PoCUS and reference standard, for a total of 124 kidneys included in our diagnostic accuracy analysis. The prevalence of hydronephrosis in our cohort was 33% (95% CI 25-41%). PoCUS had a sensitivity of 85% (95% CI 71-94%) and specificity of 78% (95% CI 68-87%) for the detection of hydronephrosis.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We describe the test characteristics of PoCUS for the detection of hydronephrosis in a cohort of patients with acute kidney injury. The low uptake of this test presents an opportunity for quality improvement work to increase its use for this indication.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10884383/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139933334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Can absence of cardiac activity on point-of-care echocardiography predict death in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest? A systematic review and meta-analysis.","authors":"Omar Albaroudi, Bilal Albaroudi, Mahmoud Haddad, Manar E Abdle-Rahman, Thirumoothy Samy Suresh Kumar, Robert David Jarman, Tim Harris","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00360-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00360-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aim: </strong>The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the accuracy of the absence of cardiac motion on point-of-care echocardiography (PCE) in predicting termination of resuscitation (TOR), short-term death (STD), and long-term death (LTD), in adult patients with cardiac arrest of all etiologies in out-of-hospital and emergency department setting.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted based on PRISMA guidelines. A literature search in Medline, EMBASE, Cochrane, WHO registry, and ClinicalTrials.gov was performed from inspection to August 2022. Risk of bias was evaluated using QUADAS-2 tool. Meta-analysis was divided into medical cardiac arrest (MCA) and traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA). Sensitivity and specificity were calculated using bivariate random-effects, and heterogeneity was analyzed using I² statistic.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 27 studies (3657 patients) were included in systematic review. There was a substantial variation in methodologies across the studies, with notable difference in inclusion criteria, PCE timing, and cardiac activity definition. In MCA (15 studies, 2239 patients), the absence of cardiac activity on PCE had a sensitivity of 72% [95% CI 62-80%] and specificity of 80% [95% CI 58-92%] to predict LTD. Although the low numbers of studies in TCA preluded meta-analysis, all patients who lacked cardiac activity on PCE eventually died.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The absence of cardiac motion on PCE for MCA predicts higher likelihood of death but does not have sufficient accuracy to be used as a stand-alone tool to terminate resuscitation. In TCA, the absence of cardiac activity is associated with 100% mortality rate, but low number of patients requires further studies to validate this finding. Future work would benefit from a standardized protocol for PCE timing and agreement on cardiac activity definition.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10879065/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139906626","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Point-of-Care Ultrasound training in undergraduate education in the European Union: current situation and perspectives.","authors":"Florence Dupriez, Audrey Hall, Toumane Diop, Alix Collard, Bastian Rodrigues de Castro, Françoise Smets, Andrea Penaloza, Dominique Vanpee","doi":"10.1186/s13089-024-00361-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-024-00361-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Given the widespread use of Point-of-Care UltraSound (PoCUS) in clinical practice, with ultrasound machines becoming more portable and affordable, recommendations and position statements from ultrasound societies now promote teaching PoCUS in the undergraduate curriculum. Nevertheless, surveys about PoCUS teaching in European medical schools are lacking. This survey aims to overview the current and future undergraduate PoCUS courses in the European Union (EU).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A questionnaire was sent to medical schools in 26 of the 27 countries of the EU; Luxembourg is the only country without a medical school. The survey was completed by the dean or a member of the medical school with knowledge of the medical curriculum. Of the 58 medical schools from 19 countries that responded to the survey, 18 (31.0%) from 13 (68.4%) EU countries reported the existence of an undergraduate PoCUS curriculum and a further 16 (27.6%) from 12 (41.4%) EU countries intended to offer it in the future. No significant difference was observed between the current and future PoCUS curricula regarding its content and purpose. Less than 40 h of theoretical teaching is provided in all the medical schools and less than 40 h of practical training is provided in 12 (75%) of the 16 medical schools which answered this specific question. Of the 40 (69%) surveyed medical schools that do not currently teach PoCUS, 20 (50%) intend to offer PoCUS courses in the future.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although the lack of teaching hours in curricula suggests that most PoCUS courses are introductory in nature and that medical students are possibly not trained to become autonomous in clinical practice, evaluating the feasibility and impact of PoCUS teaching on clinical practice should be promoted. The medical schools that intend to develop this curriculum should be encouraged to implement validated tools to objectively assess their programs and students' performances.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10864236/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessment of quadriceps muscle mass by ultrasound in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery.","authors":"Nestor David Caicedo Buitrago, Diana Trejos Gallego, Maria Cristina Florián Pérez, Carlos Andrés Quintero Cardona, Cristian Chaparro Botero","doi":"10.1186/s13089-023-00348-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-023-00348-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are exposed to many factors that activate catabolic and inflammatory pathways, which affect skeletal muscle and are, therefore, related to unfavorable hospital outcomes. Given the limited information on the behavior of muscle mass in critically ill patients, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impact on quantitative and qualitative measurements of quadriceps muscle mass using ultrasound after cardiac surgery. To accomplish this, a prospective, descriptive, and correlational study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital. Quadriceps muscle mass was evaluated via ultrasound in 31 adult patients in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery, with daily follow-up until postoperative day 7, as well as an assessment of associations with negative outcomes at 28 days.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A 16% reduction in the cross-sectional area of the rectus femoris was found (95% CI 4.2-3.5 cm²; p 0.002), as well as a 24% reduction in the pennation angle of the rectus femoris (95% CI 11.1-8.4 degrees; p: 0.025). However, changes in the thickness of the rectus femoris, vastus internus, vastus lateralis, the length of the fascicle of the vastus lateralis, the pennation angle of the vastus lateralis, the sarcopenia index, and the Hekmat score were not statistically significant. There was no significant association between quadriceps muscle mass measurements and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) length stay or 28-day mortality.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery evaluated by ultrasound exhibit both quantitative and qualitative changes in quadriceps muscle mass. A significant reduction in muscle mass is observed but this is not associated with unfavorable outcomes.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10861409/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724315","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lung ultrasound and supine chest X-ray use in modern adult intensive care: mapping 30 years of advancement (1993-2023).","authors":"Luigi Vetrugno, Daniele Guerino Biasucci, Cristian Deana, Savino Spadaro, Fiorella Anna Lombardi, Federico Longhini, Luigi Pisani, Enrico Boero, Lorenzo Cereser, Gianmaria Cammarota, Salvatore Maurizio Maggiore","doi":"10.1186/s13089-023-00351-4","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-023-00351-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In critically ill patients with acute respiratory failure, thoracic images are essential for evaluating the nature, extent and progression of the disease, and for clinical management decisions. For this purpose, computed tomography (CT) is the gold standard. However, transporting patients to the radiology suite and exposure to ionized radiation limit its use. Furthermore, a CT scan is a static diagnostic exam for the thorax, not allowing, for example, appreciation of \"lung sliding\". Its use is also unsuitable when it is necessary to adapt or decide to modify mechanical ventilation parameters at the bedside in real-time. Therefore, chest X-ray and lung ultrasound are today's contenders for shared second place on the podium to acquire a thoracic image, with their specific strengths and limitations. Finally, electrical impedance tomography (EIT) could soon have a role, however, its assessment is outside the scope of this review. Thus, we aim to carry out the following points: (1) analyze the advancement in knowledge of lung ultrasound use and the related main protocols adopted in intensive care units (ICUs) over the latest 30 years, reporting the principal publications along the way, (2) discuss how and when lung ultrasound should be used in a modern ICU and (3) illustrate the possible future development of LUS.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10861418/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139724316","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing contamination rates of sterile-covered and uncovered transducers for ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous lines.","authors":"Yonathan Estrella, Nathan Panzlau, Kevin Vinokur, Samuel Ayala, Maya Lin, Theodore Gaeta, Lawrence Melniker, Gerardo Chiricolo, Nazey Gulec","doi":"10.1186/s13089-023-00347-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s13089-023-00347-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Physicians frequently use point-of-care ultrasound for intravenous access and bloodwork in the ED. Recently, AIUM and ACEP released recommendations on ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous lines (USPIVs), but there are no agreed upon standardized policies. We sought to determine whether the use of sterile-covered transducers (SCT) decreases the rate of contamination when compared to uncovered transducers (UCT) after standard low-level disinfection (LLD).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a randomized control trial comparing contamination rates of US transducers between SCT and UCT after their use for USPIV by the vascular access team, also known as the \"PICC\" team, over a 3-month period. A sample of admitted patient with an USPIV order were included and randomized to SCT (experimental) or UCT (control) arms. Transducers were swabbed and inserted into the SystemSURE Plus Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) Luminometer to calculate Relative Light Units (RLU). We performed a cost analysis of requiring sterile covers for USPIVs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The UCT and SCT arms contained 35 and 38 patients, respectively. The SCT group had a mean of 0.34 compared to the UCT group mean of 2.29. Each sterile cover costs $8.49, and over 3000 USPIVs are placed annually by the \"PICC\" team.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Contamination rates were similar among the UCT and SCT groups after LLD. 254 inpatient USPIVs are performed monthly, not including failed attempts or covers used in the ED where USPIV placement is an essential part of ED workflow. This study suggests that the use of SCT does not significantly affect transducer contamination rates. These findings question burdensome regulatory hospital policies that are not evidence-based.</p>","PeriodicalId":36911,"journal":{"name":"Ultrasound Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10850037/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139698528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}