Point-of-Care Ultrasound Practice:A Perception and Knowledge Assessment Among Pediatrics and Child Health Residents at Two Teaching Hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background: Point-of-care ultrasound is an evolving field in medical education and emergency practice. Numerous pieces of evidence support the use of point-of-care ultrasound in children to improve outcomes. Pediatrics as a specialty has been relatively late to adopt point-of-care ultrasound with a significant gap in specific recommendations and implementation. Assessing pediatrics residents’ perception and knowledge is one of the crucial factors for the successful integration of point-of-care ultrasound into pediatric emergency and critical care practice . The objective of the study is to describe pediatric residents’ perception towards pediatric point-of-care ultrasound practice and identify factors associated with the knowledge of point of-care ultrasound . Method A cross-sectional study assessed the perception and knowledge of 97 pediatric residents from year 1 to year 3 in two tertiary hospitals in Addis Ababa. An online questionnaire was used to collect data on demographics, perception, and knowledge towards point-of-care ultrasound. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 26 software using analytic and descriptive parameters. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with point of care ultrasound knowledge. Result - Majority (70.1%) of residents have a good understanding of the potential use of point-of-care ultrasound for pediatrics. A majority (67%) of residents rated good perception on point-of-care ultrasound as a valuable tool for improving diagnostic accuracy. On the importance of integrating point-of-care ultrasound training into pediatric residency programs, 70.1% of residents have a good perception. The most significant perceived barrier to point-of-care ultrasound practice is a lack of training (72.2%). Residents with any form of point-of-care ultrasound training were significantly more likely to score above the median knowledge assessment (AOR=58.46; 95% CI: 5.835-585.858; P-value=0.01). Residents who reported using point-of-care ultrasound once a month or once a week were significantly more likely to have a good knowledge of point-of-care ultrasound compared to those who never or rarely used it (AOR= 9.000; 95% CI: 2.307-35.118; P-value=0.020) and (AOR=7.661; 95% CI: 1.375-42.695; P-value=0.039), respectively . Conclusion and recommendation - Our findings aligned with the broader trend of pediatric residents advocating for the integration of point-of-care ultrasound into pediatric curricula. This integration is likely to increase acceptance among pediatric residents. Our results highlight the importance of prior training and regular use of point-of-care ultrasound in enhancing the knowledge of pediatric residents. We recommend that further studies be conducted to assess the impact of educational interventions on the pre- and post-knowledge of pediatric residents towards point-of-care ultrasound. Another area of interest for future research would be the factors hindering the integration of point-of-care ultrasound into pediatric curricula.