The Duke Emergency Ultrasound Section (EUS) had a successful and fun year at the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) national conference this past May in Phoenix, AZ. From faculty research awards to plenary abstracts and ultrasound gaming teams, we strongly represented Duke Emergency Medicine and our Emergency Ultrasound program.
Every year, EM residency programs from around the country send teams of three residents to participate in the SonoGames Ultrasound competition. This exciting battle of the minds is a live competition that starts with a round of multiple-choice questions on point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) topics and applications, followed by live ultrasound scanning rounds requiring team cooperation, knowledge, and skill. This year’s theme was “The Wild West”, which included survival in thrilling adventures such as Indiana Jones and the pit of snakes, desert cacti hoop throwing, scanning blindfolded in the deserts of Tatooine (May the force be with you), mastering archery skills shooting flying pigs at sandcastles, and escaping Wile E. Coyote and his dynamite (Meep meep!).
VA ED Emergency Ultrasound Program Director
Congratulations to the Duke SonoGames team, otherwise known as “The Foreign Bodies,” comprised of Drs. Hiro Ata, Alaa Ousta, and Lucas Tarabal Da Matta and led by team coach Dr. Rebecca Theophanous, who placed an amazing 7th out of 97 teams nationwide! This was the first time a Duke team progressed until the final competition round and is truly an impressive feat.
Team captain Dr. Rebecca Theophanous, Duke Emergency Ultrasound faculty and Emergency Ultrasound Director at the Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, was also awarded the Rising Star Research Award for junior faculty during the Academy of Emergency Ultrasound (AEUS) business meeting. This award recognizes one AEUS member a year for their prolific early career research productivity and is an incredible honor. Her work as a co-author on a plenary abstract from the Reason3 cardiac arrest group was presented by Dr. Romolo Gaspari, titled “Visualization of occult ventricular fibrillation (VF) by echocardiography during cardiac arrest”. This multi-center prospective cohort study found that 8.8% of all cardiac arrest patients demonstrated occult VF on bedside ultrasound during the first three pauses in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), with the majority of occult VF (76.6%) demonstrating Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) by electrocardiography. There was no difference in survival to hospital admission for occult VF, but presence of any VF on bedside ultrasound may be associated with increased overall survival.
Congratulations to our faculty and residents for a successful and exciting year! To get involved with the ultrasound section for education, research, teaching, or other unique opportunities, please reach out to any of the ultrasound faculty or fellow. Keep scanning, and to the moon!