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New ASE Guideline Clarifies Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound Nomenclature
The guideline aims to standardize the nomenclature around cardiac point-of-care ultrasound to facilitate collaboration, reduce confusion and enhance patient safety
(DURHAM, NC, September 10, 2024)—A new guideline from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) addresses the ambiguity in the current terminology used for cardiac point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS).
The guideline, titled Recommendations for Cardiac Point-of-Care Ultrasound Nomenclature, outlines specific recommendations establishing a deliberate vocabulary of cardiac POCUS-related terms to improve consistency in patient-care and research settings.
Clinicians use cardiac POCUS to examine heart and vascular systems at a patient’s bedside. However, because this diagnostic tool is utilized by a multitude of clinicians from numerous specialties in different settings, there are currently inconsistencies in the language and terms surrounding cardiac POCUS.
“Many terms have been proposed to describe the use of ultrasound by bedside clinicians to image the heart, and the words we use matter,” said Chair of the Guideline Writing Group Dr. James N. Kirkpatrick, Professor of Medicine and Bioethics and Humanities, and Director of the Echocardiography Laboratory at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. “We believe our recommended terms and definitions can be an important step in bringing together the different specialties that use cardiac POCUS to standardize what we do—all for the good of the patient.”
The writing group is co-chaired by Dr. Nova Panebianco, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director of Emergency Ultrasound at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Jose Luis Diaz-Gomez, Institute Chair—Integrated Hospital Care at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi and Adjunct Professor of Anesthesiology at Baylor College of Medicine. Additionally, it includes healthcare professionals from multiple stakeholder medical societies and a specialist in medical linguistics.
The guideline focuses on four main areas:
- Review the evolution of cardiac POCUS-related terms.
- Outline specific recommendations, distinguishing between intrinsic and practical differences in ‘‘basic cardiac POCUS/FoCUS,’’ ‘‘advanced cardiac POCUS,’’ ‘‘consultative echocardiography,’’ and ‘‘ultrasound assisted physical examination.’’
- Address implications of these recommendations for current practice.
- Discuss the implications for novel technologies and future research.
Drs. Kirkpatrick, Panebianco and Diaz-Gomez believe that a standard nomenclature can set the stage for future consensus building around the coordination of imaging studies, credentialing processes, billing practices, liability considerations, training protocols, and research.
“We intend for this cardiac POCUS nomenclature to be a starting point for future work in more specific areas. Establishing a deliberate vocabulary is the foundation for the accurate and efficient transfer of medical knowledge among healthcare professionals, educators, administrators, insurance providers, credentialing bodies, and most importantly, patients,” Dr. Kirkpatrick commented.
This document is endorsed by the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), World Interactive Network Focused on Critical Ultrasound (WINFOCUS) and 26 ASE International Alliance Partners.
The new guideline is published in the September 2024 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. All guidelines published by ASE are available at ASEcho.org/Guidelines.
About American Society of Echocardiography
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is the Society for Cardiovascular Ultrasound Professionals™. ASE is the largest global organization for cardiovascular ultrasound imaging serving physicians, sonographers, nurses, veterinarians, and scientists and as such is the leader and advocate, setting practice standards and guidelines for the field. The Society is committed to advancing cardiovascular ultrasound to improve lives. For more information, visit the ASE website ASEcho.org or social media pages on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, or Instagram.
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