Practical Intermediate Echocardiography for Critical Care (PIE)

PIE is a new 2-day intermediate level transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) course targeting at more experienced or advanced practitioners. This course is particularly useful to:

• Practitioners who are already performing basic level echo but would like to advance their skills and apply Doppler echo in their clinical examinations.
• Practitioners who are already performing Doppler echo but want to perfect their Doppler skills or want to learn more on assessments using proper Doppler measurements.
• Practitioners who want to prepare for advanced critical care echocardiography qualifications (e.g. EDEC).

Our trainers are established international and local experts, such as supervisors for Advanced qualifications (e.g. EDEC, DDU), who have plenty of experience in teaching echocardiography.

This course differs from most other courses in that the hands-on sessions are very interactive, full of fun and challenges.  Candidates are requested to complete the tasks listed in the PIE workbook in the hands-on sessions.

Course content
The course covers basic principles and clinical topics, with the emphasis on Doppler assessments. Topics* may include:

• Core topics:

• • Revisiting anatomy and views in TTE, and probe navigation
  • Principles of Doppler & tissue Doppler
  • Cardiac output measurements by Doppler
  • The Bernoulli’s equation and assumptions
  • Pulmonary artery pressure estimations
  • Tissue Doppler and applications
  • Mean pressure gradient, pressure half-time, and their applications in valvular assessments
  • The continuity equation and its applications
  • Assessing LV filling pressures
  • Different types of dynamic LV outflow obstructions
  • Pitfalls of Doppler measurements

• Clinical topics &/or Case studies (to be decided by local organisers):

• • Shock
  • Shortness of breath
  • Sepsis
  • Chest pain
  • Pulmonary oedema
  • Pulmonary embolism and hypertension
  • Valvular assessments for critical care