POCUS for Delirium and Agitation: Be ABLE

Our population is aging, and with that comes an increase in the number of older adults in emergency departments. Delirium affects up to 1/3 older adults who present to the ED and is a medical emergency that is often overlooked by ED clinicians. In this episode of GEMCast host Dr. Christina Shenvi discusses the importance of recognising delirium, documenting it, and intervening where possible in the ED with Dr. Kayla Furlong and Dr. Gillian Sheppard. Dr. Furlong and Dr. Sheppard are both emergency medicine physicians in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, who are experts in point of care ultrasound (POCUS). Dr. Furlong is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University and is the Chair of the CAEP Geriatric EM Committee. Dr. Sheppard is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Discipline of Emergency Medicine at Memorial University. She is also a Diplomate of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada with an Area of Focused Competence in POCUS and is the education lead for the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians Emergency Ultrasound Committee. They have taken a special interest in whether the use of POCUS increases the ED clinicians’ ability to determine the aetiology of a geriatric patient’s delirium or agitation, and in doing so have developed the ABLE approach. They discuss why and how POCUS can be a useful tool and provide helpful tips for ED clinicians for how to implement POCUS. Tune in to learn more about how to approach older adults in the ED considering delirium, agitation, and the challenges they present. For further show notes head to https://gedcollaborative.com/resource/delirium/delirium-agitation-and-the-role-of-pocus-in-older-adults-in-the-ed/