Teaching point-of-care transfontanellar ultrasound for pediatricians and medical students

Abstract Objectives The authors aim to evaluate the “point-of-care” transfontanellar ultrasound (TU) as an extension to pediatric physical examination and suggest a TU teaching protocol. Methods The students were randomly divided into two groups, group A (12 participants) and group B (15 participants). The first group only received theoretical training, while the second group received theoretical and practical training. A third group, group C, included 15 pediatricians and interns who also received theoretical and practical training. All the participants underwent multiple-choice testing before and after a four-hour short course on TU. Six months later, another evaluation was performed to analyze the retained knowledge. Furthermore, a questionnaire based on the Likert scale was administered to evaluate satisfaction. Results The cognitive evaluation (maximum score = 10 points) before and after training increased in group A from 4,0 ± 1,04 to 7,5 ± 1,2 (p  Conclusion Cognitive assessment before and after classes and training reveals progress in learning, with knowledge retention in 6 months. Theoretical-practical courses are well accepted.