Does point-of-care ultrasound of vascular access improve the communication between clinicians? A scoping review

Background Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is increasingly used as a non-invasive vascular access assessment method by renal nurses in Australia. Its purpose is to assess arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) prior to cannulation and to guide cannulation itself. It has been shown that renal nurses can be trained to acquire the advanced skills to use this method competently; however, it is not known if they communicate their observations to other healthcare professionals such as vascular access nurses, interventional radiologists or vascular access surgeons in tertiary hospitals. Aim This scoping review sought to determine if it has previously been reported that renal nurses who use POCUS communicate specific patient findings. Method The scoping review was performed using nursing and medical databases comprising MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science and CINAHL Plus with Full Text. Results There is a paucity of knowledge about renal nurses communicating observations made using POCUS devices with other healthcare professionals. A PRISMA checklist has been used to validate the results of this scoping review. Conclusions Despite evidence that renal nurses are increasingly using POCUS, it is unknown if they share their observations with other clinicians to advance care of their patients. An observational study is warranted to examine the communication processes in this respect. This information could prove to be useful in the context of advancing vascular access care for this patient group and could inform clinical practice.