PHILADELPHIA -- While point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is used in many pediatric critical care settings, support the technology’s use varies, according to research presented May 28 at the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) annual meeting.
In her talk, Kortney Weeks, MD, from Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, presented findings showing that while most pediatric critical care units use POCUS, stakeholders in different areas of medicine have differing attitudes about its use in procedural versus diagnostic settings and education for trainees versus faculty.
Kortney Weeks, MD, presents findings at AIUM 2026 showing how pediatric critical care programs use POCUS.AuntMinnie.com
“Education and collaboration are key, not only in the field of pediatric critical care medicine and pediatrics in general, but across subspecialties,” Weeks said. “POCUS is well-established in emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine, adult medicine, and anesthesia.”
While POCUS has become a valuable tool in pediatric ICU settings, guidelines for POCUS use are limited to documents published in 2015 and 2020. Barriers persist in education toward the technology’s use, despite successful implementation into learning curricula, according to Weeks.
Weeks said an opportunity exists for broader assessment of the POCUS education landscape. She and colleagues in 2025 issued a survey to accredited pediatric critical care medicine programs in the U.S, which gathered information on program demographics, current POCUS practices, curricular components, and perception of POCUS education barriers.
Final analysis included data from 33 programs, of which 24 had separate cardiothoracic and pediatric ICUs. The remaining nine consisted of mixed units.
All responding programs reported using POCUS in their institutions. While 23 programs indicated POCUS use being procedural, with scattered diagnostic use, 10 programs reported a mix of procedural and diagnostic use with POCUS. And on a weekly basis, 97% of fellows in these programs used the technology procedurally compared to 73% who used it diagnostically.
Additionally, 30 of the total programs (91%) reported having POCUS education, with 22 having a formal curriculum. All programs with POCUS education said they tech hands-on skill sessions and clinical opportunities, while most (93%) said they teach didactics.
Weeks also reported that the lack of faculty with POCUS experience was the biggest barrier to POCUS education (79% of respondents), followed by lack of time to develop a curriculum (39%) and lack of assessment tools (30%).
While most respondents reported POCUS being a useful procedural tool, many were neutral about its use in diagnostic evaluation. This included 55% of radiology leadership (with 12% opposing its use here), 64% of hospital leadership, 45% of divisional leadership, and 58% of pediatric ICU leadership.
More respondents in divisional leadership and pediatric ICU faculty voiced support or extreme support for POCUS education for trainees (97% and 97%, respectively) while radiology leadership and hospital leadership were more neutral in this area (64% and 58%, respectively).
And 79% and 95% of divisional leadership and pediatric ICU faculty said they support POCUS education for faculty compared to 70% and 62% of radiology leadership and divisional leadership, who were respectively neutral.
Finally, Weeks reported that despite most programs having POCUS education, just 15% of respondents said they are satisfied with their education. Using existing POCUS networks is needed to gather curricular elements to expand education via interactive teaching, she added.
“This will allow valuable time to be spent on developing hands-on skill sessions, image review, and assessment tools,” Weeks said.
Using study data for continued advocacy toward financial support will also be key toward POCUS education, she added.
For more of AuntMinnie's coverage from AIUM 2026, click here.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
