Spotlight on Research

In recent years, the technology of performing point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become increasingly accessible and has found increasing application in ambulances, helicopters, wilderness, and other resource-limited settings. POCUS can provide valuable insights in time-sensitive, life-threatening conditions, which reduces time-to-diagnosis, ultimately affecting clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. POCUS is dependent upon the operator and, though evidence has shown that an acceptable standard of competency of prehospital ultrasound can be taught relatively quickly to non-physician personnel, such as paramedics, the feasibility of prehospital tele-ultrasound performed by non-physician personnel is unclear.

This scoping review aimed to address this by qualitatively analysing data obtained from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2021, in the MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane online databases. The review was focused on prehospital personnel considering the benefits and costs of implementing tele-ultrasound in their practice and standards of care. The search included variations on terms such as ‘ultrasound,’ ‘tele-ultrasound,’ ‘paramedic,’ ‘emergency,’ ‘sonography,’ and ‘prehospital’. A total of 10 articles met the inclusion criteria.