Course on E-Fast Emergency Ultrasound

Ultrasound: a fast, reliable and non-invasive diagnostic tool
Course on E-Fast Emergency Ultrasound
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Course on E-Fast Emergency Ultrasound

Clinical ultrasound is justified in the Emergency Department and Emergency Room because healthcare personnel can answer key questions that allow them to orient their patient as much as possible

image signal of different tones, between white (hyperechogenic: gas, bone surface) and black (anechoic: liquid) depending on the different degrees of absorption. and ultrasound reflection.

In the 1990s, it began to be used by physicians, not necessarily radiologists, to search for post-traumatic abdominal and thoracic injuries.

In the second half of the same decade, the term FAST (Focused Abdominal Ultrasound in Trauma) was modified from the acronym A for "abdominal" to A for Assessment.

So, the E-FAST became Extended Focused Assessment Ultrasound in Trauma. On a patient with an abrupt-appearing clinical case treated at the accident site, an emergency ultrasound with the E-FAST protocol allows diagnostic guidance, optimizes the management of critical situations, and orients referral to the most convenient hospital service.


Useful as part of a set of actions and tests necessary for diagnosis.

Clinical emergency ultrasound is useful as part of a set of actions and tests necessary for diagnosis, and not as a single tool in the management of patients with blunt abdominal trauma. The ultrasound should add, never subtract, so we must continue with the medical history and rigorous examination.

Be able to detect intraperitoneal fluid

Being able to detect intraperitoneal fluid can change the prehospital management of the multiple trauma patient and efficiently optimize the differential diagnosis in order to quickly decide to transfer the patient to the most appropriate hospital for care.

Transmit the information obtained by the ultrasound scanner

The information obtained by the ultrasound scanner can be transmitted to hospital emergency services in order to manage the reception and care of severe trauma patients with more time and, therefore, more efficiently.



Objectives

- Provide students with the skills and competences necessary to understand the basic concepts of ultrasounds (physical principles-ultrasound images).

- Know how to interpret abdominal ultrasound anatomy.

- Be able to respond clearly and objectively to most emergency situations.

Competences

At the end of the practical workshop, the student will be able to:

  • 1.- Detect the existence of intraperitoneal fluid.
  • 2.- Know how to detect the existence of pericardial effusion.
  • 3.- Be able to detect the existence of air or intrapleural fluid.
  • 4.- Visualize the existence of an abdominal aneurysm.
  • 5.- Be able to detect a dilation of the urinary tract.
  • 6.- Be able to detect the presence of a bladder balloon.
  • 7.- Detect a ruptured spleen.

Methodology

Course with a face-to-face workshop structure of 8 hours, in which the basic theoretical concepts will be taught at the beginning of the course and before each practical exercise.

Basic skills are acquired to understand the physical principles of ultrasound imaging by practicing the maneuvers to be acquired, on a rotating basis with a reduced number of students for each accredited instructor.

The competences to be learned in order to apply an E-FAST emergency ultrasound are taught in a practical way.

The evaluation includes:

  • Completing the mandatory face-to-face attendance of the course hours.
  • CStudents have to successfully pass the practical assessment.
  • Post-training assessment survey on satisfaction of expectations.

Course Program

The workshop takes place in one day

  • 09:00 - 10:15 Normal and pathological ultrasound of the abdomen.
  • 10:15 - 10:30 Break.
  • 10:30 - 12:00 Abdominal ultrasound practice.
  • 12:00 - 13:00 Videos and practical presentation of patients with abdominal pathology.
  • 13:00 - 14:00 Lunch.
  • 14:00 - 15:30 Ultrasound of the FAST-PREP protocol and Pleuro-pulmonary ECHO.
  • 15:30 - 16: FAST-PREP protocol practices in emergencies.
  • • 16:30 - 17:00 Break.
  • 17:00 - 18:15 Practical exam.
  • 18:15 --18: 30 Conclusions and closing of the course.

Professors

Instructors

Taught by accredited instructors from the IEM-Emergency Training Institute. The Institute for Medical Studies (IEM) is a center that provides specialized health training in emergencies at all levels. It has instructors qualified in the use of Ultrasound, with experience in emergencies, reformed and up-to-date in accordance with the Consell Català de Ressuscitació (CCR) and the National CPR Plan of the Spanish Society of Intensive, Critical Medicine and Coronary Units (SEMICYUC), with the 2015 Life Support Recommendations of the European Resuscitation Council (ERC).