Echocardiography for the Everyday Veterinarian

Focused echocardiography has been used by emergency veterinarians for establishing preliminary diagnoses and to help guide initial management of patients in acute circulatory or respiratory failure. This prospective study sought to determine whether a training course in focused echocardiography might improve proficiency of interns and residents not enrolled in cardiology training programs in accurately interpreting echocardiography findings in dogs. The course was developed and administered by 3 board-certified veterinary cardiologists. Written examinations were administered to participants before and after the course, which included didactic lectures followed by a hands-on laboratory session and practical examination involving transthoracic echocardiography on dogs with and without cardiovascular disease. The purpose was to determine whether the course might help optimize patient care through appropriate initiation of emergent treatment and triage decisions by the emergency clinician. The training course was found to improve knowledge and resulted in acceptable proficiency in some echocardiographic findings commonly identified in emergent patients. Skills needed to accurately assess fluid volume status, identify cardiac masses, ventricular enlargement or hypertrophy, and certain cardiac diseases, however, were not provided by this course.

SourceEvaluation of a training course in focused echocardiography for noncardiology house officers. Tse YC, Rush JE, Cunningham SM, et al. JVECC 23:268-273, 2013.