Comparison of artificial intelligence versus real-time physician assessment of pulmonary edema with lung ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: Lung ultrasound can evaluate for pulmonary edema, but data suggest moderate inter-rater reliability among users. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been proposed as a model to increase the accuracy of B line interpretation. Early data suggest a benefit among more novice users, but data are limited among average residency-trained physicians. The objective of this study was to compare the accuracy of AI versus real-time physician assessment for B lines. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study of adult Emergency Department patients presenting with suspected pulmonary edema. We excluded patients with active COVID-19 or interstitial lung disease. A physician performed thoracic ultrasound using the 12-zone technique. The physician recorded a video clip in each zone and provided an interpretation of positive (≥3 B lines or a wide, dense B line) or negative (<3 B lines and the absence of a wide, dense B line) for pulmonary edema based upon the real-time assessment. A research assistant then utilized the AI program to analyze the same saved clip to determine if it was positive versus negative for pulmonary edema. The physician sonographer was blinded to this assessment. The video clips were then reviewed independently by two expert physician sonographers (ultrasound leaders with >10,000 prior ultrasound image reviews) who were blinded to the AI and initial determinations. The experts reviewed all discordant values and reached consensus on whether the field (i.e., the area of lung between two adjacent ribs) was positive or negative using the same criteria as defined above, which served as the gold standard. RESULTS: 71 patients were included in the study (56.3% female; mean BMI: 33.4 [95% CI 30.6-36.2]), with 88.3% (752/852) of lung fields being of adequate quality for assessment. Overall, 36.1% of lung fields were positive for pulmonary edema. The physician was 96.7% (95% CI 93.8%-98.5%) sensitive and 79.1% (95% CI 75.1%-82.6%) specific. The AI software was 95.6% (95% CI 92.4%-97.7%) sensitive and 64.1% (95% CI 59.8%-68.5%) specific. CONCLUSION: Both the physician and AI software were highly sensitive, though the physician was more specific. Future research should identify which factors are associated with increased diagnostic accuracy.

The test developer's dilemma: Evaluating the balance of feasibility and empiric performance of test development techniques for repeated written assessments.

PURPOSE: Written assessments face challenges when administered repeatedly, including resource-intensive item development and the potential for performance improvement secondary to item recall as opposed to understanding. This study examines the efficacy of three-item development techniques in addressing these challenges. METHODS: Learners at five training programs completed two 60-item repeated assessments. Items from the first test were randomized to one of three treatments for the second assessment: (1) Verbatim repetition, (2) Isomorphic changes, or (3) Total revisions. Primary outcomes were the stability of item psychometrics across test versions and evidence of item recall influencing performance as measured by the rate of items answered correctly and then incorrectly (correct-to-incorrect rate), which suggests guessing. RESULTS: Forty-six learners completed both tests. Item psychometrics were comparable across test versions. Correct-to-incorrect rates differed significantly between groups with the highest guessing rate (lowest recall effect) in the Total Revision group (0.15) and the lowest guessing rate (highest recall effect) in the Verbatim group (0.05), p = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS: Isomorphic and total revisions demonstrated superior performance in mitigating the effect of recall on repeated assessments. Given the high costs of total item revisions, there is promise in exploring isomorphic items as an efficient and effective approach to repeated written assessments.[Box: see text].

Ultrasound for airway management: An evidence-based review for the emergency clinician.

BACKGROUND: Airway management is a common procedure performed in the Emergency Department with significant potential for complications. Many of the traditional physical examination maneuvers have limitations in the assessment and management of difficult airways. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been increasingly studied for the evaluation and management of the airway in a variety of settings. OBJECTIVE: This article summarizes the current literature on POCUS for airway assessment, intubation confirmation, endotracheal tube (ETT) depth assessment, and performing cricothyroidotomy with an emphasis on those components most relevant for the Emergency Medicine clinician. DISCUSSION: POCUS can be a useful tool for identifying difficult airways by measuring the distance from the skin to the thyrohyoid membrane, hyoid bone, or epiglottis. It can also predict ETT size better than age-based formulae. POCUS is highly accurate for confirming ETT placement in adult and pediatric patients. The typical approach involves transtracheal visualization but can also include lung sliding and diaphragmatic elevation. ETT depth can be assessed by visualizing the ETT cuff in the trachea, as well as using lung sliding and the lung pulse sign. Finally, POCUS can identify the cricothyroid membrane more quickly and accurately than the landmark-based approach. CONCLUSION: Airway management is a core skill in the Emergency Department. POCUS can be a valuable tool with applications ranging from airway assessment to dynamic cricothyroidotomy. This paper summarizes the key literature on POCUS for airway management.

Accuracy of ultrasound for endotracheal intubation between different transducer types.

INTRODUCTION: Ultrasound has been increasingly utilized for the identification of endotracheal tube (ETT) location after an intubation attempt, particularly among patients in cardiac arrest. However, prior studies have varied with respect to the choice of transducer and no studies have directly compared the accuracy between transducer types. Our study is the first to directly compare the accuracy of ETT confirmation between the linear and curvilinear transducer. METHODS: This study was performed in a cadaver lab using three different cadavers chosen to represent varying neck circumferences. Cadavers were randomized to tracheal or esophageal intubation. Blinded sonographers assessed the location of the ETT using either a linear or curvilinear transducer in an alternating sequence. Accuracy of sonographer identification, time to identification, and operator confidence were assessed. RESULTS: Four hundred and five assessments were performed with 198 (48.9%) tracheal and 207 (51.1%) esophageal intubations. The linear transducer was 98% (95% CI 95.1% to 99.2%) accurate. The curvilinear transducer was 95% (95% CI 91.1% to 97.3%) accurate. The mean time to identification was significantly lower with the linear transducer [7.46 s (95% CI 6.23 to 8.7 s)] as compared with the curvilinear transducer [11.63 s (95% CI 9.05 to 14.2 s)]. The mean operator confidence was significantly higher with the linear transducer [4.84/5.0 (95% CI 4.76 to 4.91)] than with the curvilinear transducer [4.44/5.0 (95% CI 4.3 to 4.57)]. All operators preferred the linear transducer over the curvilinear transducer. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for ETT confirmation did not significantly differ between ultrasound transducer types, but the curvilinear transducer was associated with a longer time to confirmation and lower operator confidence. Further studies are needed to determine if the accuracy would change with more novice providers or in specific patient populations.

Variation in the accuracy of ultrasound for the detection of intubation by endotracheal tube size.

INTRODUCTION: Rapid and accurate confirmation of endotracheal tube (ETT) placement is a fundamental step in definitive airway management. Multiple techniques with different limitations have been reported. Recent studies have evaluated the accuracy, time to performance, and physician confidence for ultrasound in both cadaveric models and live patients. However, no study to date has measured the effect of ETT size. Our study is the first to measure the accuracy of ultrasound for ETT confirmation based on ETT size. METHODS: This study was performed in a cadaver lab using three different cadavers chosen to represent varying neck circumferences. Cadavers were intubated in a random sequence with respect to both the location of intubation (i.e., tracheal vs esophageal) and sizes of ETT. Three ETT sizes were utilized: 6.0-, 7.0-, and 8.0-mm. Blinded sonographers assessed the location of the ETT using the static technique. Accuracy of sonographer identification, time to identification, and operator confidence were assessed. RESULTS: 453 assessments were performed. Overall, ultrasound was 99.1% (95% CI 97.8% to 99.7%) accurate in identification of correct location of intubation. The mean time to placement was 6.45 s (95% CI 5.62 to 7.28). The mean operator confidence level was 4.72/5.0 (95% CI 4.65 to 4.78). There was no significant difference between ETT sizes with respect to any of the outcomes. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound for ETT confirmation did not vary with the use of different ETT sizes. Further studies are needed to determine if the accuracy would change with more novice providers or in specific patient populations.

Ultrasonography versus computed tomography for suspected nephrolithiasis.

BACKGROUND: There is a lack of consensus about whether the initial imaging method for patients with suspected nephrolithiasis should be computed tomography (CT) or ultrasonography. METHODS: In this multicenter, pragmatic, comparative effectiveness trial, we randomly assigned patients 18 to 76 years of age who presented to the emergency department with suspected nephrolithiasis to undergo initial diagnostic ultrasonography performed by an emergency physician (point-of-care ultrasonography), ultrasonography performed by a radiologist (radiology ultrasonography), or abdominal CT. Subsequent management, including additional imaging, was at the discretion of the physician. We compared the three groups with respect to the 30-day incidence of high-risk diagnoses with complications that could be related to missed or delayed diagnosis and the 6-month cumulative radiation exposure. Secondary outcomes were serious adverse events, related serious adverse events (deemed attributable to study participation), pain (assessed on an 11-point visual-analogue scale, with higher scores indicating more severe pain), return emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and diagnostic accuracy. RESULTS: A total of 2759 patients underwent randomization: 908 to point-of-care ultrasonography, 893 to radiology ultrasonography, and 958 to CT. The incidence of high-risk diagnoses with complications in the first 30 days was low (0.4%) and did not vary according to imaging method. The mean 6-month cumulative radiation exposure was significantly lower in the ultrasonography groups than in the CT group (P<0.001). Serious adverse events occurred in 12.4% of the patients assigned to point-of-care ultrasonography, 10.8% of those assigned to radiology ultrasonography, and 11.2% of those assigned to CT (P=0.50). Related adverse events were infrequent (incidence, 0.4%) and similar across groups. By 7 days, the average pain score was 2.0 in each group (P=0.84). Return emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and diagnostic accuracy did not differ significantly among the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Initial ultrasonography was associated with lower cumulative radiation exposure than initial CT, without significant differences in high-risk diagnoses with complications, serious adverse events, pain scores, return emergency department visits, or hospitalizations. (Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.).

External Validation of the STONE Score, a Clinical Prediction Rule for Ureteral Stone: An Observational Multi-institutional Study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The STONE score is a clinical decision rule that classifies patients with suspected nephrolithiasis into low-, moderate-, and high-score groups, with corresponding probabilities of ureteral stone. We evaluate the STONE score in a multi-institutional cohort compared with physician gestalt and hypothesize that it has a sufficiently high specificity to allow clinicians to defer computed tomography (CT) scan in patients with suspected nephrolithiasis. METHODS: We assessed the STONE score with data from a randomized trial for participants with suspected nephrolithiasis who enrolled at 9 emergency departments between October 2011 and February 2013. In accordance with STONE predictors, we categorized participants into low-, moderate-, or high-score groups. We determined the performance of the STONE score and physician gestalt for ureteral stone. RESULTS: Eight hundred forty-five participants were included for analysis; 331 (39%) had a ureteral stone. The global performance of the STONE score was superior to physician gestalt (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve=0.78 [95% confidence interval {CI} 0.74 to 0.81] versus 0.68 [95% CI 0.64 to 0.71]). The prevalence of ureteral stone on CT scan ranged from 14% (95% CI 9% to 19%) to 73% (95% CI 67% to 78%) in the low-, moderate-, and high-score groups. The sensitivity and specificity of a high score were 53% (95% CI 48% to 59%) and 87% (95% CI 84% to 90%), respectively. CONCLUSION: The STONE score can successfully aggregate patients into low-, medium-, and high-risk groups and predicts ureteral stone with a higher specificity than physician gestalt. However, in its present form, the STONE score lacks sufficient accuracy to allow clinicians to defer CT scan for suspected ureteral stone.

Utilization of a gum elastic bougie to facilitate single lung intubation.

INTRODUCTION: Patients with severe pulmonary hemorrhage due to unilateral trauma or a bleeding cancer often present to the emergency department in acute respiratory distress. Although it is generally recommended to perform single lung intubation, most emergency department providers do not have access to or are not familiar with double-lumen endotracheal tubes, and blind insertion of an endotracheal tube to maximum depth does not ensure that the proper (nonhemorrhagic) lung is ventilated. Therefore, single lung intubation may be significantly delayed in these patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of using a gum elastic bougie ("bougie") to facilitate single lung intubation. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, randomized, blinded pilot study assessing the accuracy of bougie-guided single lung intubation in a fresh human cadaveric model. Two investigators each inserted a bougie under video laryngoscope guidance. After passing the vocal cords, the intubator would be randomized to turn the bougie 90° clockwise (for right mainstem intubation) or 90° counterclockwise (for left mainstem intubation). The bougie was then advanced until resistance was met, and the endotracheal tube was subsequently advanced over the bougie. After intubation, a board-certified pulmonologist investigator who was blinded to the initial lung selection used a fiberoptic bronchoscope to confirm placement by assessing endotracheal tube location with respect to the carina. The primary outcome was the accuracy of correct lung placement. RESULTS: Two providers performed a total of 45 placements. There were 22 right mainstem and 23 left mainstem intubations. The overall accuracy was 100% (95% confidence interval, 90.2%-100%) for both right and left mainstem intubations. DISCUSSION: In our cadaveric model of mainstem intubation, bougie-guided single lung intubation was highly accurate for both left and right mainstem intubations. Future studies should assess the accuracy of this technique among different providers and bodies, as well as live patients.

Point-of-care Ultrasound: A New Tool for the Identification of Gastric Foreign Bodies in Children?

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has been used to identify ingested gastric foreign bodies. Our aim was to describe the sonographic findings of radiopaque and radiolucent gastric foreign bodies (FBs) in children. CASE REPORT: Three children ingested different FBs. Two were confirmed with standard radiographs, one was not identified radiographically but was passed in the stool. All three objects were initially found in the stomach using POCUS. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: With increased training and comfort, emergency physicians may begin to use POCUS for identification and monitoring of ingested FBs in the pediatric population.

Can emergency physicians diagnose and correctly classify diastolic dysfunction using bedside echocardiography?

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to determine if emergency physicians (EPs) can correctly perform a bedside diastology examination (DE) and correctly grade the level of diastolic function with minimal additional training in echocardiography beyond what is learned in residency. We hypothesize that EPs will be accurate at detecting and grading diastolic dysfunction (DD) when compared to a criterion standard interpretation by a cardiologist. METHODS: We conducted a prospective, observational study on a convenience sample of adult patients who presented to an urban emergency department with a chief concern of dyspnea. All patients had a bedside echocardiogram, including a DE, performed by an EP-sonographer who had 3 hours of didactic and hands-on echocardiography training with a cardiologist. The DE was interpreted as normal, grade 1 to 3 if DD was present, or indeterminate, all based on predefined criteria. This interpretation was compared to that of a cardiologist who was blinded to the EPs' interpretations. RESULTS: We enrolled 62 patients; 52% had DD. Using the cardiology interpretation as the criterion standard, the sensitivity and specificity of the EP-performed DE to identify clinically significant diastolic function were 92% (95% confidence interval [CI], 60-100) and 69% (95% CI, 50-83), respectively. Agreement between EPs and cardiology on grade of DD was assessed using κ and weighted κ: κ = 0.44 (95% CI, 0.29-0.59) and weighted κ = 0.52 (95% CI, 0.38-0.67). Overall, EPs rated 27% of DEs as indeterminate, compared with only 15% by cardiology. For DEs where both EPs and cardiology attempted an interpretation (indeterminates excluded) κ = 0.45 (95% CI, 0.26 to 0.65) and weighted κ = 0.54 (95% CI, 0.36-0.72). CONCLUSION: After limited diastology-specific training, EPs are able to accurately identify clinically significant DD. However, correct grading of DD, when compared to a cardiologist, was only moderate, at best. Our results suggest that further training is necessary for EPs to achieve expertise in grading DD.

Multi-Institution Validation of an Emergency Ultrasound Image Rating Scale-A Pilot Study.

BACKGROUND: As bedside ultrasound (BUS) is being increasingly taught and incorporated into emergency medicine practice, measurement of BUS competency is becoming more important. The commonly adopted experiential approach to BUS competency has never been validated on a large scale, and has some limitations by design. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to introduce and report preliminary testing of a novel emergency BUS image rating scale (URS). METHODS: Gallbladder BUS was selected as the test case. Twenty anonymous BUS image sets (still images and clips) were forwarded electronically to 16 reviewers (13 attendings, 3 fellows) at six training sites across the United States. Each reviewer rated the BUS sets using the pilot URS that consisted of three components, with numerical values assigned to each of the following aspects: Landmarks, Image Quality, and Annotations. Reviewers also decided whether or not each BUS set would be "Clinically Useful." Kendall τs were calculated as a measure of concordance among the reviewers. RESULTS: Among the 13 attendings, image review experience ranged from 2-15 years, 5-300 scans per week, and averaged 7.8 years and 60 images. Kendall τs for each aspect of the URS were: Landmarks: 0.55; Image Quality: 0.57; Annotation: 0.26; Total Score: 0.63, and Clinical Usefulness: 0.45. All URS elements correlated significantly with clinical usefulness (p < 0.001). The correlation coefficient between each attending reviewer and the entire group ranged from 0.48-0.69, and was independent of image review experience beyond fellowship training. CONCLUSION: Our novel URS had moderate-to-good inter-rater agreement in this pilot study. Based on these results, the URS will be modified for use in future investigations.

The FLUSH study--flush the line and ultrasound the heart: ultrasonographic confirmation of central femoral venous line placement.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Inadvertent arterial placement of a femoral venous catheter may result in serious morbidity, including limb necrosis. The Flush the Line and Ultrasound the Heart (FLUSH) test is visualization of the heart by a subxiphoid ultrasonic view while the central catheter is flushed with agitated saline solution. We wish to determine whether the FLUSH test can verify proper femoral venous line placement. METHODS: We prospectively studied a convenience sample of children undergoing cardiac catheterization, for whom both femoral venous and arterial access were part of their standard care. The cardiologist flushed manually agitated saline solution through each catheter in randomized sequence while the blinded physician sonographer recorded the presence or absence of right atrial opacification. We calculated the sensitivity and specificity of the FLUSH test relative to our reference standard, the cardiologist's fluoroscopic visualization of catheter wire placement. RESULTS: Of the 51 subjects enrolled, the FLUSH test was 100% sensitive (95% confidence interval 95% to 100%) and 90.3% specific (95% confidence interval 81% to 96%) in confirming femoral catheter placement. In no case was an arterial flush misidentified as a femoral flush. The interrater reliability of the test was strong: κ 0.82 for all images and 0.9 for those of good quality. CONCLUSION: The FLUSH test is simple and reliable, and appears to accurately confirm femoral venous line placement.

Education Value Units in Medical Education: A Scoping Review.

PURPOSE: On the basis of the tripartite mission of patient care, research, and education, a need has arisen to better support faculty in non-revenue-generating activities, such as education. As a result, some programs have developed education value unit (EVU) systems to incentivize these activities. The purpose of this scoping review is to analyze the existing literature on EVUs to identify current structures and future directions for research. METHOD: The authors conducted a literature search of 5 databases without restrictions, searching for any articles on EVU systems published from database inception to January 12, 2022. Two authors independently screened articles for inclusion. Two authors independently extracted data and all authors performed quantitative and qualitative synthesis, consistent with best practice recommendations for scoping reviews. RESULTS: Fifty-eight articles were included. The most common rationale was to incentivize activities prioritized by the department or institution. Of those reporting funding, departmental revenue was most common. The majority of EVU systems were created using a dedicated committee, although composition of the committees varied. Stakeholder engagement was a key component for EVU system development. Most EVU systems also included noneducational activities, such as clinical activities, scholarship activities, administrative or leadership activities, and citizenship. Incentive models varied widely but typically involved numeric- or time-based quantification. EVUs were generally seen as positive, having increased equity and transparency as well as a positive impact on departmental metrics. CONCLUSIONS: This scoping review summarizes the existing literature on EVU systems, providing valuable insights for application to practice and areas for future research.

Educator's blueprint: A how-to guide for developing high-quality multiple-choice questions.

Multiple-choice questions are commonly used for assessing learners' knowledge, as part of educational programs and scholarly endeavors. To ensure that questions accurately assess the learners and provide meaningful data, it is important to understand best practices in multiple-choice question design. This Educator's Blueprint paper provides 10 strategies for developing high-quality multiple-choice questions. These strategies include determining the purpose, objectives, and scope of the question; assembling a writing team; writing succinctly; asking questions that assess knowledge and comprehension rather than test-taking ability; ensuring consistent and independent answer choices; using plausible foils; avoiding grouped options; selecting the ideal response number and order; writing high-quality explanations; and gathering validity evidence before and evaluating the questions after use.

Generative Artificial Intelligence for Chest Radiograph Interpretation in the Emergency Department.

Importance: Multimodal generative artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies have the potential to optimize emergency department care by producing draft radiology reports from input images. Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and quality of AI-generated chest radiograph interpretations in the emergency department setting. Design, Setting, and Participants: This was a retrospective diagnostic study of 500 randomly sampled emergency department encounters at a tertiary care institution including chest radiographs interpreted by both a teleradiology service and on-site attending radiologist from January 2022 to January 2023. An AI interpretation was generated for each radiograph. The 3 radiograph interpretations were each rated in duplicate by 6 emergency department physicians using a 5-point Likert scale. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was any difference in Likert scores between radiologist, AI, and teleradiology reports, using a cumulative link mixed model. Secondary analyses compared the probability of each report type containing no clinically significant discrepancy with further stratification by finding presence, using a logistic mixed-effects model. Physician comments on discrepancies were recorded. Results: A total of 500 ED studies were included from 500 unique patients with a mean (SD) age of 53.3 (21.6) years; 282 patients (56.4%) were female. There was a significant association of report type with ratings, with post hoc tests revealing significantly greater scores for AI (mean [SE] score, 3.22 [0.34]; P < .001) and radiologist (mean [SE] score, 3.34 [0.34]; P < .001) reports compared with teleradiology (mean [SE] score, 2.74 [0.34]) reports. AI and radiologist reports were not significantly different. On secondary analysis, there was no difference in the probability of no clinically significant discrepancy between the 3 report types. Further stratification of reports by presence of cardiomegaly, pulmonary edema, pleural effusion, infiltrate, pneumothorax, and support devices also yielded no difference in the probability of containing no clinically significant discrepancy between the report types. Conclusions and Relevance: In a representative sample of emergency department chest radiographs, results suggest that the generative AI model produced reports of similar clinical accuracy and textual quality to radiologist reports while providing higher textual quality than teleradiologist reports. Implementation of the model in the clinical workflow could enable timely alerts to life-threatening pathology while aiding imaging interpretation and documentation.

An unusual case of epistaxis-juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma.

BACKGROUND: Epistaxis is a common complaint seen in the younger population. Its etiology is typically from the anterior nares, although we present a case of epistaxis from an uncommon source-juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma. Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a highly vascular, benign, yet locally invasive tumor that occurs in preadolescent males. OBJECTIVES: To illustrate a case of epistaxis from an uncommon source. CASE REPORT: A 21-year-old man with a past medical history of allergic rhinitis presented to the Emergency Department (ED) after 6 months of intermittent yet worsening epistaxis. He described the bleeding as sudden onset that resolved after 30 min of direct compression of the external nares. He denied any history of digital manipulation, trauma, or bleeding disorders. Upon arrival in the ED, he had brisk bleeding from the right naris that was initially controlled with phenylephrine nasal spray. A small round friable mass was visualized in the right posterior nasal cavity. Further hemostasis of the epistaxis was achieved using a nasal tampon moistened with phenylephrine, and a computed tomography scan of the sinus revealed a soft tissue mass almost completely occupying the sphenoid sinus and extending into the nasopharynx and posterior ethmoids. There was also expansion and bony erosion of the right pterygopalatine fossa. A final diagnosis of JNA was made and the patient was given follow-up with an otorhinolaryngologist, who ultimately surgically resected the mass. CONCLUSIONS: JNA is a highly vascular, benign, yet locally invasive tumor that occurs in preadolescent males. This case illustrates the importance of appreciating the more uncommon cases of epistaxis, especially when conventional methods of treatment have initially failed.

The bougie: an inexpensive lifesaving airway device.

BACKGROUND: "Bougies," otherwise known as endotracheal tube introducers, remain preferred devices for the emergency physician when faced with a difficult airway. Bougies have high success rates for the prehospital provider and the first-time emergency department (ED) user, with few reported complications. Inexpensive, disposable models provide simple yet valuable tools in the challenging patient with an anterior airway or limited neck mobility. OBJECTIVES: Use of the bougie is similar to standard endotracheal intubation. Correct placement is determined by feeling "clicks" as the device passes over the tracheal rings and a "hold up" when entering the distal airways. CASE REPORTS: Three recent cases from our ED are briefly reported, in which the bougie was invaluable in the management of the difficult airway. All patients had limited visualization of the glottis but were intubated successfully. CONCLUSION: This article discusses three example cases, and then reviews the history of the bougie, placement technique, and current evidence for use.

Development of an expert consensus checklist for emergency ultrasound.

Background: Within today's competency-based medical education, traditional set number proficiency benchmarks have been called into question. Checklists may help guide individualized training and standardized outcomes. However, multicenter expert consensus checklists based on established guidelines with supporting validity evidence have not been published for specific emergency ultrasound (EUS) applications. We describe a robust national EUS expert consensus methodology for developing a checklist for the extended focused assessment with sonography in trauma (eFAST examination). Methods: Utilizing the ACEP imaging compendium as a primary reference, 10 national EUS experts iteratively refined and agreed upon a final checklist. To obtain initial reliability and validity evidence, two different EUS experts blinded to resident experience then assessed 24 residents performing an eFAST in a simulated environment. Inter-rater reliability of the checklist was assessed using Cohen's kappa coefficient. Validity was assessed by comparing mean performance with the Student's t-test and discriminant ability of individual checklist items using item-total correlation. Results: The 10 EUS experts agreed on the final checklist items after two rounds of iterations. When evaluating 24 emergency medicine (EM) PGY-1 to -4 residents, the kappa correlation between two blinded EUS faculty raters was moderate at 0.670. Kappa and agreement were near-perfect or perfect in right and left chest image optimization, right upper quadrant (RUQ) probe placement, RUQ anatomy identification, and pelvic first-view anatomy identification. The difference in checklist performance between junior and senior EM residents was significant at -8.1% (p = 0.004). Identification of pelvic structures and placement of the probe for pelvic views were found to have an excellent item-total correlation with values of >0.4. Conclusions: We have described a robust national EUS expert consensus methodology for developing an eFAST checklist based on the ACEP imaging guidelines. Based on this encouraging initial reliability and validity evidence, further research and checklist development is warranted for additional EUS applications.