Use of point-of-care ultrasound in prehospital settings: clinical applications and future directions

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a simple and rapid diagnostic method used in emergency medicine to supplement physical examinations and guide treatment decisions.Technological advances and the resulting miniaturization of ultrasound devices have made POCUS possible in prehospital settings.It is successfully used in several areas of prehospital medicine, primarily to optimize the quality of advanced life support, to identify reversible causes of cardiac arrest, to diagnose dyspnea or chest pain, and to evaluate patients with multiple organ trauma.However, it is important to be aware that using POCUS in prehospital medicine, often in unfavorable conditions and under time pressure, involves certain dangers and limitations.Another issue is that the training program in POCUS for emergency medicine is not fully defined.The adoption of POCUS by emergency medical systems varies by country.This paper reviews research on the use of ultrasound in prehospital settings, explores the limitations of integrating POCUS into these environments, and discusses future possibilities for developing this diagnostic method in prehospital medicine.