Critical ultrasound journal
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The diagnosis and management of acutely dyspneic patients in resource-limited developing world settings poses a particular challenge. Focused cardiopulmonary ultrasound (CPUS) may assist in the emergency diagnosis and management of patients with acute dyspnea by identifying left ventricular systolic dysfunction, pericardial effusion, interstitial pulmonary edema, and pleural effusion. We sought to assess the accuracy of emergency providers performing CPUS after a training intervention in a limited-resource setting; a secondary objective was to assess the ability of CPUS to affect change of clinician diagnostic assessment and acute management in patients presenting with undifferentiated dyspnea. ⋯ A focused training intervention in CPUS was sufficient for providers in a limited-resource setting to accurately identify left ventricular systolic dysfunction, pericardial effusion, evidence of interstitial syndrome, and pleural effusions in dyspneic patients. Clinicians were able to integrate CPUS into their clinical impressions and management plans and reported a high level of confidence in their ultrasound findings.