Editorial

It is my great pleasure to welcome the first issue of Ultrasound International Open in 2022 even though 2023 is approaching.

Caroline Ewertsen

This issue presents 5 interesting papers ranging from teaching in ultrasound to EFSUMB recommendations in head and neck ultrasound.

The first paper evaluates the effect of different amounts of hands-on training in novices learning point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS). Not surprisingly performance increases with increasing hands-on time, but a more interesting finding is that the inter-individual range is very large, making it impossible to define an “optimal” time of hands-on training. This underlines that a fixed number of scans cannot define one’s competencies in ultrasound but should rather be evaluated using an established evaluation method.

This has been considered in the fifth paper, which is written in collaboration between EFSUMB and European specialists in head and neck ultrasound. It highlights the training recommendations in head and neck ultrasound with the goal of ensuring high quality and standardized head and neck ultrasound practice performed by different clinical specialists.

Two papers evaluate bowel ultrasound, one for motility in different abdominal quadrants before and after a meal, and one for assessment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in comparison with MR enterography. The paper on IBD concludes that the two methods are equally good for making clinical decisions, but MR enterography should be employed in patients’ where complications are suspected.

One last paper describes the added value of ultrasound in patients with breast disease.

Hopefully these articles will keep you entertained in this final and maybe busy month of 2022.

On behalf of the UIO editors

Caroline Ewertsen

Correspondence

MD, Phd Caroline Ewertsen,

Email: [e-mail]

Publication History

Article published online:
30 January 2023