Introduction: Post-training POCUS courses fulfill a skill development area for intensivists who did not receive POCUS training during fellowships. Prior surveys have shown increased comfort with POCUS among course participants. However, it is not known if participation in POCUS courses leads to an increase in POCUS utilization in practice. We conducted a survey of all SCCM members in 2024 on POCUS practices (Critical Ultrasound Penetration Survey, CUSP). The specific aim of this secondary analysis from the CUSP data was to compare the use of POCUS among survey respondents who had completed POCUS training courses vs. those who had not. Methods: In the CUSP survey respondents were asked about the frequency with which they used POCUS for various procedural uses and the proportion of eligible patients on whom they had used POCUS within the last year (never, rarely 76%). For this analysis, the responses were dichotomized as use on the majority of eligible patients vs. not (>50%). Responses from participants who reported completing a post-training POCUS course were compared with those who did not. Results: Out of 503 respondents, 256 with POCUS training in fellowships were excluded. Of the remaining 247 respondents (32 countries, 60% US), 149 (60%) reported having completed a post-training POCUS course, and 98 (40%) did not. There was no difference in POCUS use for vascular access between the two groups. Respondents who had taken POCUS courses were more likely to perform POCUS on >50% of eligible patients for indications such as LV function assessment (65% vs. 52%, p = 0.046), volume status (60% vs. 43%, p = 0.01), pericardial effusion (62% vs. 49%, p = 0.04), and pleural effusion (75% vs. 53%, p = 0.004). Overall use of POCUS was low (and did not show a difference with POCUS course) for applications not typically included in POCUS courses, such as pulmonary hypertension assessment (29% vs. 20%, p = 0.14), valvular dysfunction (31% vs. 24%, p = 0.25), or advanced pressure measurements (24% vs. 19%, p = 0.36). Conclusions: Post-training POCUS courses lead to increased clinical application of POCUS at the bedside among intensivists who did not receive POCUS training during their fellowships.
Hessinger et al. (Sun,) studied this question.