From lungs to legs: a hands-on workshop on POCUS for general practitioners
Andrea BALBARINI and Amanda Joan KEEFE
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has become an increasingly valuable tool in general practice (GP), allowing clinicians to enhance diagnostic accuracy and guide frontline decisions. Among its most relevant applications for GPs, are the assessment of pulmonary diseases (such as pneumonia, pleural effusion, and interstitial syndromes) and the evaluation of suspected lower limb deep vein thrombosis (DVT) through compression ultrasound (CUS). Integrating POCUS into daily practice can optimize patient management and reduce the need for immediate referral to secondary care.The objectives of the workshop include: acquiring basic knowledge of lung ultrasound in common respiratory conditions, understanding of CUS in suspected lower limb DVT and learning practical skills to perform focused POCUS examinations.A blended format combining short lectures with a hands-on session will be used. Faculty will provide interactive teaching, demonstrations, and guided practice on ultrasound machines. After a brief introduction on ultrasound in General Practice, the first lecture will focus on POCUS in pulmonary pathology. The second lecture will describe the role of compression ultrasound in suspected lower limb DVT. Finally there will be a hands-on session with practical demonstration and supervised scanning.Participants will acquire essential knowledge of POCUS applications in pulmonary and vascular medicine, practice key ultrasound techniques, and improve confidence in integrating sonographic findings into clinical reasoning in primary care.This workshop provides an accessible and clinically relevant introduction to the use of POCUS in pulmonary and vascular medicine for GPs. By combining theoretical knowledge with practical skills, it aims to empower primary care physicians to adopt ultrasound as a valuable extension of their clinical examination.
