What's Hot in POCUS this March and April!
- g&h CritCareEcho
- 11 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Date: 27th April 2025
Welcome to our special bumper edition of "Whats Hot in POCUS"!
After a brief spring break, we are back with a combined March and April 2025 issue, packed with some of the most exciting and impactful papers in critical care ultrasound right now.
This month, we've selected ten standout articles covering everything from AI integration in ultrasound, to shock state diagnosis, and innovations in lung, abdominal, and vascular PoCUS.
There’s a lot to dive into — so let’s get started!
1. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Critical Care Ultrasound (in press)
🌐 Context and Background POCUS is evolving rapidly with AI integration, offering new pathways for improving image acquisition, interpretation, and workflow efficiency in critical care settings.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
Peck and Conway explore topics such as auto-labeling, probe guidance, quality assurance, and the role of deep learning in echocardiographic interpretation. Future developments like robotic scanning and real-time adaptive imaging are also discussed.
💡 Impact and Significance
AI has the potential to democratise ultrasound access, improve training, and standardise quality in even the most resource-limited environments.
2. Diagnosis of Shock States: The Role of PoCUS (in press)
🌐 Context and Background
Accurate diagnosis of shock subtypes remains a cornerstone of critical care management.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
Miller, Wilkinson et al outline a structured multi-organ PoCUS approach for differentiating hypovolaemic, cardiogenic, obstructive, and distributive shock at the bedside.
💡 Impact and Significance
Early and accurate categorisation of shock states can lead to targeted, personalised treatment strategies, improving patient outcomes.
3. Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Monitoring and Resuscitation in Patients with Shock
🌐 Context and Background
Shock remains a leading cause of mortality in intensive care units worldwide.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
The paper highlights the role of PoCUS protocols (RUSH, SHoC-ED) in guiding both initial management and ongoing haemodynamic reassessment during resuscitation.
💡 Impact and Significance
Incorporating PoCUS at every stage of shock management improves diagnostic precision, speeds time to intervention, and reduces mortality.
5. Advanced Imaging Techniques and Artificial Intelligence in Pleural Diseases: A Narrative Review
🌐 Context and Background
The diagnosis and management of pleural diseases are rapidly evolving with new imaging modalities and AI integration.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
This review explores how advanced imaging techniques, including AI-assisted ultrasound, enhance the detection of pleural effusions, pneumothorax, and malignancies.
💡 Impact and Significance
Adoption of AI-enhanced imaging could significantly improve diagnostic accuracy and workflow efficiency in pleural disease management.
6. Venous Excess Ultrasound Score Association with Acute Kidney Injury in Critically Ill Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
🌐 Context and Background
Venous congestion is increasingly recognised as a key contributor to acute kidney injury (AKI) in critical illness.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
This meta-analysis shows a strong association between elevated VExUS scores and the development of AKI, suggesting that venous ultrasound may serve as an early marker for fluid-related organ dysfunction.
💡 Impact and Significance
VExUS-guided fluid management could offer a valuable strategy to prevent or mitigate AKI in the critically ill.
7. One Size Doesn’t Fit All: Exploring the Influence of Body Size, Age, and Sex on Right Ventricle Size Measurements
🌐 Context and Background
Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular size is crucial but often overlooks patient-specific variations.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
This study highlights significant variations in right ventricular dimensions based on age, body habitus, and sex, suggesting the need for more personalised interpretation of RV size in clinical practice.
💡 Impact and Significance
Tailoring RV assessment improves diagnostic precision and avoids misclassification of right heart pathology.
8. Accuracy of Colour Doppler Ultrasound for Nasogastric Tube Placement
🌐 Context and Background
Nasogastric tube misplacement remains a significant clinical risk.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
Colour Doppler ultrasound achieved high sensitivity and specificity for confirming NG tube placement in the emergency setting, offering a faster, radiation-free alternative to chest X-ray.
💡 Impact and Significance
Implementing ultrasound confirmation could dramatically improve patient safety and streamline ED workflows.
9. Exploring the Adoption of Diaphragm and Lung Ultrasound (DLUS) by Physiotherapists, Physical Therapists, and Respiratory Therapists: An Updated Scoping Review
🌐 Context and Background
Diaphragm and lung ultrasound are increasingly being utilised by allied health professionals in respiratory care settings.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
This updated review maps the growing evidence for DLUS use by physiotherapists, highlighting barriers, facilitators, and training frameworks.
💡 Impact and Significance
Expanding DLUS adoption empowers a broader range of clinicians to contribute to respiratory diagnostics and patient care — a practice likely to become standard in the future.
10. Evolution of Secondary Findings in Acute Cholecystitis: A Temporal Analysis from POCUS to Formal Imaging
🌐 Context and Background
Early detection of acute cholecystitis can change surgical decision-making pathways.
🔍 Key Developments and Insights
This study highlights how PoCUS findings evolve over time and how early ultrasound can support faster diagnosis and treatment initiation before formal imaging.
💡 Impact and Significance
Timely PoCUS diagnosis in gallbladder disease improves patient triage and may expedite definitive management.
Conclusion
March - April’s combined "What’s Hot in POCUS?" highlights the expanding frontiers of critical care ultrasound — from the integration of artificial intelligence into bedside diagnostics, to the refined use of multi-organ PoCUS in shock management, AKI prevention, and pleural disease evaluation.
We also see a growing emphasis on individualised patient assessment, with studies exploring how body size, age, and sex influence echocardiographic interpretation, and how diaphragm and lung ultrasound is empowering a broader range of clinicians in respiratory care.
Don’t miss the next edition! Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter to stay up to date with the latest POCUS research: ghcritcareecho.co.uk
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About the writer
Hannah Conway, a clinical-academic and National FUSIC Heart Lead for the UK.
Interests lie in PoCUS education, Echocardiography, RV injury and telemedicine
Follow me on Twitter/X for more PoCUS related educational content https://x.com/cardiacaccp
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