Dissemination of a Pediatric Musculoskeletal POCUS Scoring System via Virtual Education: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Abstract

Point of care pediatric musculoskeletal POCUS scanning and scoring protocols for childhood arthritis have emerged in recent years. However, pediatric musculoskeletal POCUS curricula in rheumatology fellowship programs are limited due to availability of trained faculty and resources. This proof-of-concept study investigated the effectiveness of educational methods for a pediatric musculoskeletal POCUS scoring protocol among fellows and physicians of differing subspecialties. Educational methods assessed included recorded videos and virtual review sessions. Effectiveness was assessed by calculating interrater reliability for the musculoskeletal POCUS scoring systems using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Following training sessions, participants then underwent scoring exercise(s) until the goal of an excellent ICC ≥ 0.75 was reached. Four participants completed two rounds of virtual education, review, and scoring sessions. Excellent interrater reliability was achieved for most views. This proof-of-concept study demonstrated virtual education covering advanced concepts of pediatric musculoskeletal POCUS provides a knowledge base for physicians from different subspecialties and various experience.

Keywords

• point-of-care ultrasound education
• musculoskeletal ultrasound
• paediatric POCUS
• arthritis