Lesson 1Health questions for POCUS in shortness of breath and chest pain (e.g., heart failure, fluid around heart, big lung collapse)This part defines main health questions for heart and lung POCUS in breathing issues and chest pain, linking signs to treatable problems like heart failure, fluid around heart, and lung collapse to guide fast bedside decisions.
Clarifying the primary dyspnea complaintScreening for pump failure and low outputRuling out major pericardial effusionIdentifying tension or large pneumothoraxPrioritizing life threats vs minor findingsLesson 2Lung scan areas and views: front, side, back; step-by-step scan methodThis part details standard lung scan areas and views, including front, side, and back parts, and teaches a regular, repeatable scan order that reduces missing problems in patients with sudden breathing trouble.
Defining anterior lung scanning zonesDefining lateral lung scanning zonesDefining posterior lung scanning zonesStandardized scanning sequence for dyspneaAdapting zones for nonambulatory patientsLesson 3Standard heart views for targeted exams: side long view, side short view, tip four-room, under-rib (under stomach)This part outlines standard heart views for targeted exams, including side long and short views, tip four-room, and under-rib views, stressing probe spots, direction, and common mistakes in patients with breathing issues.
Parasternal long axis acquisition stepsParasternal short axis at multiple levelsApical four-chamber view optimizationSubxiphoid cardiac and IVC assessmentCommon artifacts and window pitfallsLesson 4Talking to patients and recording templates for heart and lung POCUS resultsThis part focuses on clear talking to patients about POCUS purpose and results, shared choices, and organized recording templates that note key heart and lung results, limits, and next steps.
Explaining POCUS purpose to patientsDiscussing preliminary versus final resultsDocumenting key cardiac POCUS elementsDocumenting key lung POCUS elementsStating limitations and follow-up plansLesson 5Health decision paths: how specific POCUS results change tests, treatment (water pills, blood thinners), placement, and urgent move needsThis part shows how specific heart and lung POCUS results change tests, guide treatments like water pills or blood thinners, affect placement choices, and spot patients needing urgent move or higher care.
POCUS-guided diagnostic test selectionAdjusting diuretics using lung B-linesUsing RV findings to guide anticoagulationDisposition decisions from bedside POCUSCriteria for urgent transfer or escalationLesson 6Limits of targeted heart and lung POCUS: image quality factors, telling long-term vs sudden results, worker errors, and when to get full heart scan/CT/lung adviceThis part reviews technical and understanding limits of targeted heart and lung POCUS, including body type, false images, long vs sudden changes, worker bias, and clear points for moving to full heart scan, CT, or expert advice.
Patient and body habitus image challengesArtifacts that mimic real pathologyDistinguishing chronic from acute findingsCommon operator and interpretation errorsWhen to obtain formal echo or CTTriggers for cardiology or pulmonary consultLesson 7Step-by-step scan method: patient position, probe place, image planes, depth and brightness changes for heart and lung viewsThis part gives step-by-step guide for targeted heart and lung scanning, including patient position, probe place, image planes, depth and brightness improvement, and fix strategies to get better views in breathing trouble patients.
Optimal positioning for dyspneic patientsProbe orientation and hand ergonomicsSelecting and aligning imaging planesAdjusting depth, gain, and focusTroubleshooting poor acoustic windowsMaintaining patient comfort during scansLesson 8Probe choice and reason for targeted heart and lung examsThis part reviews probe options for targeted heart and lung exams, comparing phased array, curved, and straight tools, and explains how frequency, size, and depth affect image quality and health question choice.
Phased array probe indicationsCurvilinear probe strengths and limitsLinear probe uses in lung assessmentBalancing frequency and penetrationMatching probe choice to clinical questionLesson 9Understanding targeted heart results: left heart pump strength guesses, right heart growth, fluid around heart and squeeze signs, valve big problemsThis part explains how to guess left heart pump strength, spot right heart growth and strain, find fluid around heart and squeeze signs, and check for major valve problems using targeted heart views at bedside.
Visual estimation of LV systolic functionAssessing RV size and interventricular septumDetecting pericardial effusion and tamponadeScreening for gross valvular abnormalitiesIntegrating cardiac POCUS with vital signsLesson 10Understanding lung results: A-lines, B-lines (all over vs one spot), lung slide, solid areas with air marks, fluid around lungsThis part covers spotting normal A-lines, understanding B-lines as all over or one spot, checking lung slide, finding solid areas with air marks, and describing fluid around lungs in sudden breathing trouble context.
Recognizing normal A-line lung patternDifferentiating focal versus diffuse B-linesAssessing lung sliding and pleural lineIdentifying consolidation and air bronchogramsCharacterizing pleural effusion on POCUS
