Point of Care Ultrasound in Pediatric Surgery across the European Region- EUPSA endorsed survey.

Introduction To assess the state of training, clinical practice and barriers to use Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) in Pediatric Surgery in Europe. Methods An Electronic survey was disseminated among European Pediatric Surgeons utilizing the EUPSA network and other existing networks. Main results There were 186 respondents from 27 European countries and 7 non-European countries. In most countries (86.6%; N=161) the initial ultrasound for acute admissions is performed by radiologists, with 1-6 hours turnover in 62.9% (N=117) of urgent cases. Ultrasound by Pediatric Surgeons (Point-of-Care Ultrasound/POCUS) is performed by 48.4% (N=90) of respondents, with 29% (N=54) using it at least once per week. The most common indications for POCUS include abdominal FAST (53.8%; N=100), diagnosis of appendicitis (41.9%; N=78), intussusception (44.6%; N=84). In malrotation-volvulus, 28.5% (N=53) used ultrasound for its diagnosis, while 27.5 (N=51) % would not see an indication here. Training in POCUS occurred informally for 55.4% (N=103) of participants, while 31.2% (N=58) attended formal training courses. Almost all respondents wanted to attain further POCUS training (89.3%; N=166), only 7% (N=13) did not think this would be useful. For 73.1% (N=136) POCUS is not currently part of the pediatric surgery training curriculum in their country. Perceived barriers to POCUS use include a lack of training opportunities 26.3% (N=49) and a paucity of portable ultrasound machines 17.8%(N=33). Conclusions There is a wide spectrum of POCUS use in pediatric surgery across Europe. For those surgeons who practice POCUS, it is most used for the diagnosis of abdominal conditions. There are differing views amongst clinicians concerning the most useful applications of POCUS. The extent to which ultrasound is taught during Pediatric Surgery training differs substantially across European curricula.