The purpose of focused critical care echocardiography (FCCE)^1,2 performed by expert cardiologists, as compared with conventional echocardiography, is early identification of hemodynamic changes in order to help with diagnostic, clinical, and therapeutic decision-making.^3,4 This crucial information has been documented over the past 15 years by means of multiple studies in adults and children.^1,3-6 According to the recommendations from the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), quantitative measurements in FCCE are not necessary⁷ and their usefulness for research within the intensive care setting has not been demonstrated to date.

In Colombia, there are no formal training programs in FCCE addressed to pediatricians working in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) or pediatric intensivists, just as there are no studies documenting their performance. The objective of this study was to assess a 26-hour theory and practice FCCE training program addressed to pediatricians and pediatric intensivists working in a PICU. Moreover, it sought to achieve and document skills acquisition by correlating the performance of the trainees with that of the pediatric cardiologist acting as the gold standard, not only in terms of basic level image acquisition but also the ability to obtain some quantitative measurements that can be used in the clinical and research settings of pediatric critical care.

A total of 11 trainees participated in the FCCE training, 5 (45.5%) pediatricians and 6 (54.5%) pediatric intensivists. Mean age was 39 years, with a range between 28 and 50. Of the study population, 45.5% or the total number of pediatric intensivists that went through the training, had prior knowledge of echocardiography (general knowledge and performance of pediatric echocardiograms) (Table 4).

Table 4

max=maximum, min=minimum, SD=standard deviation.

The course lasted 26 hours. During the training process, FCCEs were performed in a total of 198 PICU inpatients, with a mean of 18 echocardiographic scans per trainee. Not all students were able to perform all 20 echocardio-grams, because of the limited time period. Upon completion of the program, 100% of the participants rated it as very useful for their professional practice (Table 4). Overall, the training program resulted in high performance on the Gaudet et al image assessment scale, with a mean of 94.5%, and also a high average level of correlation for the measurements performed: 77.25% in relation to the expert pediatric cardiologist (Table 5).

Table 5

IVC=inferior vena cava, SD=standard deviation.

The echocardiographic windows for which the trainees obtained the best average score were the subcostal long-axis view and the subcostal window for the IVC, with performances of 100% and 98.3% on the scale, respectively. The window with the best average score and performance (81.8%) was the apical 4-chamber view (Table 5).

The echocardiographic measurement with the highest average correlation between the trainees and the expert pediatric cardiologist, and a good correlation (higher than 80%) was inferred CVP (100% of the trainees), followed by dIVC (81.8% of the trainees), TAPSE (72.7% of the trainees) and LVEF (54.5% of the trainees) (Table 6).

Table 6

Note: Positive correlation defined as a correlation level higher than 80% for each echocardiographic measurement as compared to the intensive care pediatric cardiologist. %=percentage, CVP=central venous pressure, IVC= inferior vena cava, LVEF=left ventricular ejection fraction, n=number, TAPSE = tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion.

When continuous variables were compared using the Student t test, significant differences were found only between having prior knowledge of echocardiography and obtaining a higher score for the apical 4-chamber view (mean, 9.0; standard deviation [SD], 1.02 P = 0.021). This prior knowledge was associated also with improved correlation with the pediatric cardiologist for LVEF measurement (mean, 92.2; SD, 6.3; P=0.036). It was also found that a greater number of training echocardiograms (before taking the practical examination at the end of the course, with a mean of 18 echocardiograms per trainee) was associated with a higher score for the sum of all the views (mean, 65.3; SD, 1.9; P=0.038). Likewise, it was sufficient for obtaining some measurements for the assessment of intravascular volume and cardiac function, with more than an 80% correlation with the expert pediatric cardiologist (Table 5).

In general terms, the 26-hour FCCE training program resulted in a very good average performance on the Gaudet et al¹⁴ image assessment scale, and very high correlation level for the various measurements with the expert pediatric cardiologist.

Studies published in recent years, including a few in pediatrics like the one by Gaspar et al,¹⁵ have documented that an average of 16 to 30 echocardiograms in training programs may be sufficient to achieve adequate and optimal FCCE performance.^7,13,15,16 However, in this level proposed by the ASE, which is equivalent to the basic level of the American College of Chest Physicians/La Societé de Reanimation de Langue Française,⁷ the only goal is to train in the acquisition of echocardiographic images and qualitative assessment of cardiac function⁷; but a few studies,^15,17,18 this included, have found that this number of echocardiograms has also been sufficient for obtaining some measurements to asses intravascular volume and cardiac function with a correlation level greater than 70% with the cardiologist and/or expert echocardiographer.

The observation is of great value for clinical and research work in intensive care. Hence, the proposal of expanding the objectives of the basic level of the American College of Chest Physicians/La Societé de Reanimation de Langue Française or of ASE level I, to include the calculation of these echocardiographic measurements. This will help optimize and obtain more objective answers and diagnoses with the bedside use of FCCE.

For people with prior experience, these types of programs may provide more expertise and help maintain their level of competency. In contrast, this study documented that 9 hours of real-time practice for pediatricians and pediatric intensivists doing FCCE resulted in a very good level of basic FCCE training and acquisition of some measurements for global cardiac function assessment.

The best performance was obtained with the subcostal long-axis window (98.75%), while the window with performances under 80% (81.8%) was the apical 4-chamber view (Table 5). It may be concluded that subcostal and parasternal views are the easiest to obtain and that the learning curve for acquiring an adequate 4-chamber view requires additional training and, consequently, a greater number of practical echocardiograms and longer training than used in this study (18 scans and 26 hours, respectively). The apical view has been recognized by the ASE as one of the most difficult echocardiographic windows to acquire, even for cardiologists in training.⁷

The echocardiographic measurements for which trainees achieved a correlation of more than 80% with the pediatric cardiologist, considered the easiest to learn, were inferred CVP, dIVC and TAPSE. The most difficult to learn, requiring more training was LVEF. The above shows that FCCE learning curve and skill improve with a greater number of echocardiographic scans and that more experience is required to improve performance in the 4-chamber view and the level of correlation for LVEF with the expert pediatric cardiologist.

RV dysfunction and failure has been recognized and studied more and more in the critical care setting; it is found to be an important morbidity and mortality factor in critically ill patients, affected not only by cardiovascular conditions but by the most frequent conditions seen in the ICU: acute respiratory distress syndrome, sepsis, and pulmonary embolism.^18,19

The gold standard for measuring RV function in view of the complex geometry is nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, which is hardly of any use in the critical care setting, even less so if bedside real-time monitoring of the RV is required for target-guided therapy designed to optimize and improve RV function.²⁰

TAPSE, together with RV fractional area change appeared to have validated these characteristics in recent years.^20,21 The ASE^7,8 considers that TAPSE may be obtained easily and is a measurement of longitudinal RV function. Although it only measures longitudinal function, it has been shown to have good correlation with techniques that assess global systolic RV function and must be part of the systematic assessment of the right cavities.⁸

The study explored, for the first time, the possibility of training for TAPSE measurement as part of the basic level FCCE curriculum, in order to assess the RV in the critical care setting. In average, it was the second best correlated measurement with the expert cardiologist, and the third for which a larger number of trainees achieved a level of correlation above 80% (8 out of 11 trainees). These findings suggest that TAPSE may be introduced as part of FCCE training as a useful and power tool for the quantitative assessment of RV systolic function.

The study explored, for the first time, the possibility of teaching TAPSE measurement as part of the basic level FCCE curriculum to assess RV function in the critical care setting. This study is the first in Colombia to establish the learning curve during the entire training of pediatricians and pediatric intensivists. It shows that they are capable of performing FCCE in critically ill children and emphasizes that every time there are doubts about anatomic or functional abnormalities, the case must always be discussed and reassessed by a pediatric cardiologist.

One of the main limitations was the small number of participants which did not allow a different type of analysis. The majority of trainees work in a PICU, with cardiovascular emphasis, and although they did not have prior knowledge in echocardiography, they have been exposed to it.

The training program was useful to achieve the basic FCCE level, with optimum performance in the acquisition of the main windows and some echocardiographic measurements to assess volemia, response to fluids and LV and RV function, following a 26-hour course and the performance of 18 echocardiographic scans during the practical component of the program.

An important contribution was the finding that, as part of the basic FCCE level of training, a very good level of correlation may be achieved for TAPSE, thus resulting in a more objective measurement of RV function and bedside monitoring of the RV. This type of training is the initial exploration of pediatric FCCE in Colombia for point-of-care academic, clinical and research purposes.

Human and animal protection. The authors declare that no experiments were conducted in humans or animals for this research.

Data confidentiality. The authors declare having followed the protocols of their institution regarding patient data disclosure.

Right to privacy and informed consent. The authors declare that not patient data appear in this article.