GUSI E-newsletters

March 2021: GUSI – Global is in Our Name

 

The world suffered a great loss last month with the untimely passing of the renowned global health champion Dr. Paul Farmer. Throughout his life, he served as an important example to countless people, all around the world, who sought to emulate his dedication to global health and to the eradication of disease such as HIV and polio. At GUSI, we are amongst the lucky few who met Dr. Paul Farmer and were inspired by his brilliance and vision. We dedicate this e-newsletter in his memory. 

Remembering Dr. Paul Farmer

Mena with Dr. Emily Cotter, Family Physician based in Albuquerque, meeting

the brilliant and inspiring Dr. Paul Farmer, UCSF Global Health bootcamp, 2015.

 

GUSI – Global is in Our Name

At GUSI, we have dedicated our work to the global community, and this speaks to the heart of what continues to motivate us. Most especially, we take pride in the work we do to educate clinicians around the world in POCUS. 

 

It has been our experience that amongst all of the great contributions to clinical care POCUS provides, the real value is most especially realized in resource limited settings. Learning POCUS, and integrating it into clinical care in resource limited settings leads to sustainability and elevation of the healthcare of all communities around the world, no matter how small nor how remote.

 

 

Our case studies this month will feature diseases or pathology Dr. Farmer spent his life fighting, often with one patient at a time, and always right at the bedside.

 

Learn more about POCUS and Global Health in this review article by one of our faculty Dr. Daniel Kaminstein. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0891552018300953?via%3Dihub

 

POCUS is also valuable in times of Humanitarian crises. Learn more here: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33499456/

 

CASE STUDY #1

A 30-year-old male with HIV presents to a hospital in South Sudan with fever and night sweats and mild tachypnea and tachycardia. He appears ill with cachexia but has a non-focal examination and is started on IV fluids and IV antibiotics. Initial laboratory studies and chest x-ray were not definitive, and so he underwent FASH ultrasound examination. The findings were ultimately concerning for HIV-associated extra-pulmonary tuberculosis which helped to expedite medical management and treatment.

Learn about how the FASH POCUS exam is found to be a relevant diagnostic tool to detect signs of tuberculosis: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/4/e027179 

 

CASE STUDY #2

A 4-year-old boy presents to a health care facility in Haiti. His mother reports one week of fever. Upon initial examination, the patient is tachypneic, tachycardic, dehydrated, and has increased work of breathing upon examination.  He is not cooperative with the examination. The facility does not have a functioning chest x-ray machine. You decide to perform lung POCUS. The images are consistent with lung consolidation, and the decision is to treat with antibiotics for community-acquired pneumonia.

 

Lung consolidation

 

Learn more about the use of lung POCUS for the management of pediatric patients: 

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.721951/full#B58

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/3/e042547.long

 

 

CASE STUDY #3

A 22-year-old pregnant woman presents to the rural antenatal clinic in Ghana for initial evaluation. She believes she is approximately 6 months pregnant and reports a recent episode of vaginal bleeding that stopped on its own, but an otherwise uncomplicated pregnancy course. She undergoes antenatal POCUS examination as well as other routine screening studies. She is found to have placenta previa and is referred to the University clinic for management of her pregnancy.

 

Placenta previa 1

 

Learn more about the positive impact of using POCUS in antenatal care in resource-limited environments:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8411672/ 

 

 

This month, GUSI also celebrates our global faculty, including this Faculty Spotlight: 

 

Dr. Opal Taylor

“My experience in global health revealed to me some of the harsh realities that people face in seeking and providing healthcare throughout the world. These experiences have shaped my practice of medicine and taught me humility and patience as I care for people from many different communities. Teaching Point of Care Ultrasound allows me to empower my colleagues globally with a skill that enhances their ability to diagnose and treat their patients in a timely fashion. For that I am truly grateful.”

 

POCUS Training is for Everyone

 

Join us – Our flagship In-Person course, POCUS for Primary Care is coming up in April in San Francisco! We would love to see you there!

GUSI Two-Day Course at the Hilton SF Financial District, April 14 & 15

GUSI’s acclaimed two-day in-person course combines high-yield lectures and hands-on scanning sessions. This 13.5 CME course uses a flipped classroom model and is designed to maximize scanning time through low instructor:learner and learner:ultrasound ratios. The course is unique, taught by physicians who are both skilled POCUS practitioners and expert educators. The MSK portion on day 2 will be taught by Dr. Ryan Petering, noted MSK educator and Director of the Sports Medicine Fellowship at Oregon Health Sciences University. Course participants receive one year of complimentary access to our online Essentials Course (25 CME hours, a $289 annual subscription) — available immediately after registration.

 

GUSI on the Move

Here are our upcoming events and courses:

• April 6: Implementing a POCUS Curriculum in your Family Medicine Residency, with Dr. Paul Bornemann, Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0qfuyrrz4oGdWu59ogirPbNI7N2uHcMjKq
• April 14-15: POCUS for Primary Care, San Francisco, CA  – https://globalultrasoundinstitute.com/two-day-course/

 

Health Equity Residency Exchange (HERE)

 

The Health Equity Research Exchange (HERE) program is the latest way that GUSI is living up to its promise to share POCUS with medical professionals from around the world. For every resident who signs up to learn with GUSI, we will extend a full scholarship to a resident practicing in a low- or moderate-income country. Learn more and sign up to participate at https://bit.ly/GUSI_HERE

 

Breaking News! 

GUSI is proud to partner with Butterfly and the Gates Foundation

GUSI will be working together with Butterfly and the Gates Foundation to disseminate probes and train hundreds of midwives in Kenya and South Africa on OB POCUS. More information to come! 

 

Read more here: https://hitconsultant.net/2022/03/09/1000-butterfly-ultrasounds-to-sub-saharan-africa/

Check out GUSI on Social Media

Mena teaching the Gallbladder Scan, to the music of The Lion King. Composer- Elton John. Rewritten Lyrics- Dr Laura Harris

 

Lyrics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GUSI in the Community

 

Check us out on our episode of Twist of Fate: A Small Business Podcast