Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine

The use of Point-of-Care Ultrasound as an important screening tool in the Emergency Department was addressed in a Grand Rounds presentation today for SBH by Dr. Christopher Moore, Chief, Section of Emergency Ultrasound, and Director of the Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship at the Yale School of Medicine.

“We have a tendency to latch on to the first bit of data, resulting in misdiagnosis,” said Dr. Moore.  “Ultrasound creates a paradigm shift.”   Dr. Moore illustrated his talk with numerous case studies showing where and how the use of bedside ultrasonography played a crucial role in rapidly identifying life-threatening pathology.

Dr. Moore cited a number of patient studies to illustrate how the use of ultrasound “bridges the gap between physician and patient” in discerning a diagnosis to improve patient care.

Research has shown overwhelming evidence that ultrasound is an ideal tool for the emergency physician for abdominal, cardiac, pelvic and trauma exams.  Ultrasound is a core rotation in the curriculum of all EM residents at SBH, under the direction of Dr. Nick Avitabile, Director of Emergency Ultrasonography within the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Moore, who is fellowship trained in emergency ultrasound, was introduced as “my mentor” by Dr. Jeffrey Lazar, Vice-Chairman and Medical Director of the Department of Emergency Medicine at SBH, from when he did his residency at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Dr. Moore established and has directed the Emergency Ultrasound Section at Yale and its Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship.  His research has been published widely in both medical journals (BMJ, NEJM) as well as in the popular press (Newsweek).