A Program of Assessment Model for Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training for Pediatric Critical Care Providers: A Comprehensive Approach to Enhance Competency-Based Point-of-Care Ultrasound Training.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly accepted in pediatric critical care medicine as a tool for guiding the evaluation and treatment of patients. POCUS is a complex skill that requires user competency to ensure accuracy, reliability, and patient safety. A robust competency-based medical education (CBME) program ensures user competency and mitigates patient safety concerns. A programmatic assessment model provides a longitudinal, holistic, and multimodal approach to teaching, assessing, and evaluating learners. The authors propose a fit-for-purpose and modifiable CBME model that is adaptable for different institutions' resources and needs for any intended competency level. This educational model drives and supports learning, ensures competency attainment, and creates a clear pathway for POCUS education while enhancing patient care and safety.

Assessment of Vocal Cord Motion Using Laryngeal Ultrasound in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Laryngeal ultrasound is a nonirradiating, noninvasive method for assessing the upper airway in children. This systematic review and meta-analysis examine available evidence for accuracy of laryngeal ultrasound in diagnosing vocal cord immobility in infants and children after surgery and trauma affecting the vocal cords. DESIGN: Medical subject heading terms were used to search MEDLINE, Embase, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library for relevant citations. Publications from January 1, 2000, to June 30, 2020 were included in the search strategy. Study inclusion criteria consisted of randomized control trials and nonrandomized retrospective or prospective observational studies where vocal cord motion was evaluated by laryngeal ultrasound and compared with a reference test. Studies were excluded if there was insufficient data to compute a sensitivity/specificity table. Case reports, case series less than 10, and manuscripts not published in English were also excluded. PATIENTS: Studies which included subjects younger than or equal to 18 years were considered for full article review. SETTINGS: No restrictions on study settings were imposed in this systematic review. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The initial search returned 1,357 citations. After de-duplication, abstract, and full review, eight citations were included in the final meta-analysis. A bivariate random-effects meta-analysis was performed, which revealed a pooled sensitivity for laryngeal ultrasound in detecting vocal cord immobility of 91% (95% CI, 83-95%), specificity of 97% (95% CI, 82-100%), diagnostic odds ratio 333.56 (95% CI, 34.00-3,248.71), positive likelihood ratio 31.58 (95% CI, 4.50-222.05), and negative likelihood ratio 0.09 (95% CI, 0.05-0.19). CONCLUSIONS: Laryngeal ultrasound demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity for detecting vocal cord motion in children in a wide range of clinical settings. Laryngeal ultrasound offers a low-risk imaging option for assessing vocal cord function in children compared with the current gold standard of laryngoscopy.

Diagnostic Bedside Ultrasound Program Development in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine: Results of a National Survey.

OBJECTIVES: To assess current diagnostic bedside ultrasound program core element (training, credentialing, image storage, documentation, and quality assurance) implementation across pediatric critical care medicine divisions in the United States. DESIGN: Cross-sectional questionnaire-based needs assessment survey. SETTING: Pediatric critical care medicine divisions with an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education-accredited fellowship. RESPONDENTS: Divisional leaders in education and/or bedside ultrasound training. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Fifty-five of 67 pediatric critical care medicine divisions (82%) with an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education-accredited fellowship provided responses. Overall, 63% of responding divisions (34/54) were clinically performing diagnostic bedside ultrasound studies with no difference between divisions with large versus small units. Diagnostic bedside ultrasound training is available for pediatric critical care medicine fellows within 67% of divisions (35/52) with no difference in availability between divisions with large versus small units. Other core elements were present in less than 25% of all divisions performing clinical studies, with a statistically significant increase in credentialing and documentation among divisions with large units (p = 0.048 and 0.01, respectively). All core elements were perceived to have not only high impact in program development but also high effort in implementation. Assuming that all structural elements could be effectively implemented within their division, 83% of respondents (43/52) agreed that diagnostic bedside ultrasound should be a core curricular component of fellowship education. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnostic bedside ultrasound is increasingly prevalent in training and clinical use across the pediatric critical care medicine landscape despite frequently absent core programmatic infrastructural elements. These core elements are perceived as important to program development, regardless of division unit size. Shared standardized resources may assist in reducing the effort in core element implementation and allow us to measure important educational and clinical outcomes.