Pediatric emergency medicine point-of-care ultrasound: summary of the evidence.

The utility of point-of-care ultrasound is well supported by the medical literature. Consequently, pediatric emergency medicine providers have embraced this technology in everyday practice. Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a policy statement endorsing the use of point-of-care ultrasound by pediatric emergency medicine providers.  To date, there is no standard guideline for the practice of point-of-care ultrasound for this specialty. This document serves as an initial step in the detailed "how to" and description of individual point-of-care ultrasound examinations.  Pediatric emergency medicine providers should refer to this paper as reference for published research, objectives for learners, and standardized reporting guidelines.

A comparison of routine, opt-out HIV screening with the expected yield from physician-directed HIV testing in the ED.

OBJECTIVES: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends routine opt-out HIV screening in health care settings. Our goal was to evaluate the feasibility and yield of this strategy in the emergency department (ED) and to compare it to the expected yield of physician-directed testing. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study in an urban ED during random shifts over 1 year. Patients were ineligible for screening if they were younger than 18 years or older than 64, a prisoner, a victim of sexual assault, in an ED resuscitation room, or had altered mental status. Research associates administered rapid HIV tests and conducted standardized interviews. The patients' ED physician, blinded to the HIV result, was asked if they would have ordered a rapid HIV test if it had been available. RESULTS: Of 7756 ED patients, 3957 (51%) were eligible for HIV screening, and 2811 (71%) of those did not opt out. Routine testing yielded 9 new HIV cases (0.32% of those tested; 95% confidence interval, 0.16%-0.63%). Physician-directed testing would have missed most of these infections: 2 of the 785 patients identified by physicians for testing would have been newly diagnosed with HIV (0.25%; 95% confidence interval, 0.04%-1.0%). Of the 9 new HIV cases, 5 established HIV care, and their median CD4 count was 201 cells/µL (range, 71-429 cells/µL). CONCLUSIONS: Routine opt-out HIV screening was feasible and accepted by a majority of ED patients. The yield of this strategy only modestly exceeded what may have been observed with physician-directed testing.