UMEM Educational Pearls

Category: Misc

Title: How much time to perform a POCUS exam?

Posted: 9/18/2023 by Alexis Salerno, MD
Click here to contact Alexis Salerno, MD

Point of Care Ultrasound has been shown to change medical management and decrease time to diagnosis.

However, sometimes on a busy shift we may get an xray or radiological study prior to performing a POCUS exam due to time constraints.

A recent study looked at the time it takes to perform a bedside ultrasound.

The authors measured the duration of time from starting the exam through the ultrasound worklist to the timestamp on the last recorded image.

They reviewed 2144 studies and found a median time of 6 minutes to perform a study.

Of course the study is limited by the time it takes to find a machine, make sure it is functioning and other supplies such as gel.

Conclusion: You can take 6 minutes to assist in your patient's clinical care.

References

Patrick DP, Bradley XG, Wolek C, Anderson B, Grady J, Herbst MK. Minutes matter: Time it takes to perform point-of-care ultrasound. AEM Educ Train. 2023 Aug 18;7(4):e10901. doi: 10.1002/aet2.10901. PMID: 37600853; PMCID: PMC10436032.