This is a new collaboration with Dr. Liliana Morales-Perez (Pediatric ED) at the University Pediatric Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The power of POCUS has substantial impact on the care of sick and injured children - including POCUS for acute resuscitation, trauma, pneumonia, sepsis, dengue, myocarditis, intussusception, procedural guidance and many more!
The main goal of this mission is to develop a Pediatric POCUS program and provide ongoing education for house staff in their department of pediatrics. Together with Dr. Morales-Perez we’ll assess regional needs and develop a POCUS curriculum for the Pediatric ED, PICU, and NICU.
The University Pediatric Hospital Dr. Antonio Ortiz, affiliated with the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, serves as a tertiary referral center for pediatric care across Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
The hospital houses 161 inpatient beds and the PICU admits over 500 patients annually. The hospital offers a range of specialized services. We hope to impact physicians, nurses, medical students and other staff that will utilize POCUS to enhance the accuracy, timeliness, and safety of care provided to pediatric patients.
Our goal is to disseminate education to build POCUS capacity across the hospital.
The following key ultrasound applications with dedicated hands-on training will be taught during this intensive workshop: focused assessment with sonography in trauma, focused cardiac ultrasound, skin and soft tissue ultrasound, musculoskeletal ultrasound of bones, joints and tendons, ocular ultrasound, abdominal ultrasound for surgical conditions like appendicitis, intussusception and pyloric stenosis, lung ultrasound for pneumonia and pleural effusion, bladder and renal ultrasound, and ultrasound guided procedures (vascular access, nerve blocks, lumbar puncture, etc.)
I recently had the opportunity to help teach at a 3-day POCUS course at Hospital Pediátrico Universitario Dr. Antonio Ortiz in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Participants included pediatric emergency physicians, critical care physicians, pediatric house staff, and neonatologists. Through interactive lectures and hands-on scanning, we covered ultrasound fundamentals as well as focused applications in cardiac, lung, abdominal/FAST, and procedural guidance. The enthusiasm and engagement of the learners was invigorating and impactful. It was inspiring to see the growing commitment to integrating POCUS into pediatric care at this tertiary children’s hospital.
