Abstract

Emergency department ultrasound: experience in a Malaysian teaching hospital

Author(s): Abdul Rashid Abdul Kader, Husyairi Harunarashid, Nurul Ain Kamaruddin, Noraliza Mohd Ariffin, Ismail Mohd Saiboon, Teodoro Herbosa

The use of ultrasound by emergency physicians (EP’s) staffing the emergency department (ED) in a hospital is relatively new in Malaysia. This paper presents the initial experience of clinical ultrasound (US) in the ED performed by EP’s, to arrive at appropriate clinical decisions quickly and reliably. The experiences documented in this paper occurred after the implementation of an initial ultrasound course for the EP’s called ‘Basic Emergency Ultrasound for Trauma’ (BEST).

This study shows the immediate impact of EP performed ultrasound when performed in the emergency setting. We validated the usefulness of clinical US skills among EP’s in diagnostic skills and decision making in emergency cases seen in a University teaching hospital ED. Three cases documented here illustrate experiences in using the newly acquired clinical skill of ED ultrasound.