SAN
FRANCISCO, April 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Bringing
order to chaos is a challenge in the best of circumstances.
"We support the Ukrainian people in their
fight for freedom in a war they did not seek." Dr. Kevin Bergman, GUSI
Never more so than in a war zone, where clinicians race against
time, proximity to enemy forces, and often incoming fire—to triage
and treat wounded patients.
That's the situation faced by physicians, military medics, and
other clinicians on battlefields across Ukraine. Circulating among them, leading
lifesaving training in point of care ultrasound (POCUS), members of
the Ukrainian medical community train as many clinicians as they
can, as efficiently as possible.
Within these stringent parameters, the POCUS Essentials
Course—offered at no cost by Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI)—has
proved to be invaluable. The video curriculum, closed-captioned in
Ukrainian, is led by experts in point of care ultrasound. And
because it's available online, the Ukrainian teams can learn POCUS
whenever the opportunity arises.
"The idea behind this training is to give clinicians the skills
and confidence they need to integrate POCUS into their patient care
under very difficult conditions," said Dr. Kevin Bergman, CEO and co-founder of GUSI.
"We decided to offer this training to these healthcare providers
at no cost," Bergman said, "Because we support the Ukrainian people
in their fight for freedom in a war they did not seek."
Dr. Vadym Vus, a rural family
physician currently working out of Kyiv, is one of the people helping spread the
reach of point of care ultrasound throughout his country.
As part of the FOCUS POCUS ultrasound team, Dr. Vus and other
Ukrainian physicians have led free training for the military,
refugees, and students. Since the invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Dr. Vus has learned to
use POCUS in ways he never imagined.
"Using POCUS we can do a tactical triage of patients in the
field—for example, performing FAST exams (focused assessment with
sonography in trauma) to identify internal bleeding, or to reveal
pneumothorax, or to find and remove shrapnel," Dr. Vus said.
"POCUS also helps assess arterial blood flow in extremities, to
determine viability—if blood is still flowing, saving the extremity
is still a possibility. If not, amputation may be required," he
added.
Dr. Stanislav Kravchuk, a
gastroenterologist based in Lviv, Ukraine, has traversed his country multiple
times to provide POCUS training since the war began.
"Our team of doctors in the Ukrainian POCUS Society includes
various specialties, all seeking to convey ultrasound skills as far
and wide as possible," Dr. Kravchuk said.
"Eighty percent of fighters' survival depends on quality of care
at the evacuation stage," Kravchuk said. "In our conditions of
combat, evacuating the wounded is often extremely difficult due to
the condition of the roads, intensity of shelling—and due to
anti-aviation measures. Casualties often wait 24 to 36 hours for
transport from battlefields. Meanwhile, medics put tourniquets on,
put in vascular access, and wrap the wounded in thermal
blankets."
Once the patients are evacuated, clinicians use ultrasound for
triage and during surgery. "Catheterization and other procedures
are safer with POCUS," Kravchuk said, citing critical funding from
the Christian Medical Association for training of military
medics.
"Answering difficult medical questions in real time is critical
for any doctor, especially during war where citizens are in harm's
way and the existing healthcare infrastructure is damaged," said
Dr. Mena Ramos, a family physician
and GUSI Co-Founder. "Partnering with Dr. Vus and Dr.
Kravchuk made it possible for GUSI to share our POCUS learning
resources to help train thousands of Ukrainian doctors and as a
result, reach tens of thousands of lives" Ramos added.
"We want people to use objective science to be brave in making
clinical decisions," Kravchuk continued. "Thanks to Global
Ultrasound Institute, more than 3,000 doctors and military medics
have been trained in this life-saving technology," he said.
"Right now, there are now about 10 teams working in the field of
POCUS training in Ukraine. Two
years ago, we were the only one," Kravchuk said.
About GUSI
The Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI) is at the forefront of
point of care ultrasound (POCUS), providing wraparound education,
training, and software to healthcare providers and health systems
globally.
With a network of over 350 POCUS educators worldwide, GUSI
training programs are designed for use across multiple medical
specialties. The institute has released a musculoskeletal/sports
medicine training curriculum, along with courses in pediatrics,
pulmonology, obstetrics, and more.
GUSI co-founders Kevin Bergman,
MD, and Mena Ramos, MD, are leaders
in POCUS education and have trained over 12,000 healthcare
providers in 60 countries.
To learn more about the Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI) and
its programs, visit www.globalultrasoundinstitute.com
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SOURCE GLOBAL ULTRASOUND INSTITUTE