Soni, Nilam J.

Abstract Background: Understanding of the diagnosis and treatment of adults with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has evolved thanks to new evidence, experience, and emerging technologies. This document updates evidence-based clinical practice guidelines on four key questions for the diagnosis and management of adult patients with CAP. Methods: A multidisciplinary panel integrated systematic reviews of comparative evidence with other relevant research and clinical experience, then applied Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology to produce recommendations using the Evidence to Decision Framework. Results: The panel formulated clinical recommendations that address questions related to CAP, including lung ultrasound for diagnosis, empiric antibacterial therapy if a test for a respiratory virus is positive, antibiotic duration, and the use of systemic corticosteroids. Conclusions: The panel formulated and provided the rationale for recommendations on selected diagnostic and treatment strategies for adult patients with CAP.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY We recommend that ultrasound guidance should be used for paracentesis to reduce the risk of serious complications, the most common being bleeding. We recommend that ultrasound guidance should be used to avoid attempting paracentesis in patients with an insufficient volume of intraperitoneal free fluid to drain. We recommend that ultrasound guidance should be used with paracentesis to improve the success rates of the overall procedure. We recommend that ultrasound should be used to assess the volume and location of intraperitoneal free fluid to guide clinical decision making of where paracentesis can be safely performed. We recommend that ultrasound should be used to identify a needle insertion site based on size of the fluid collection, thickness of the abdominal wall, and proximity to abdominal organs. We recommend that the needle insertion site should be evaluated using color flow Doppler ultrasound to identify and avoid abdominal wall blood vessels along the anticipated needle trajectory. We recommend that a needle insertion site should be evaluated in multiple planes to ensure clearance from underlying abdominal organs and detect any abdominal wall blood vessels along the anticipated needle trajectory. We recommend that a needle insertion site should be marked with ultrasound immediately before performing the procedure, and the patient should remain in the same position between marking the site and performing the procedure. We recommend that using real‐time ultrasound guidance for paracentesis should be considered when the fluid collection is small or difficult to access. We recommend that dedicated training sessions, including didactics, supervised practice on patients, and simulation‐based practice, should be used to teach novices how to perform ultrasound‐guided paracentesis. We recommend that simulation‐based practice should be used, when available, to facilitate acquisition of the required knowledge and skills to perform ultrasound‐ guided paracentesis. We recommend that competence in performing ultrasound‐guided paracentesis should be demonstrated prior to independently performing the procedure on patients.

Many hospitalists incorporate point‐of‐care ultrasound (POCUS) into their daily practice to answer specific diagnostic questions or to guide performance of invasive bedside procedures. However, standards for hospitalists in POCUS training and assessment are not yet established. Most internal medicine residency training programs, the major pipeline for incoming hospitalists, have only recently begun to incorporate POCUS in their curricula. The purpose of this document is to inform a broad audience on what POCUS is and how hospitalists are using it. This document is intended to provide guidance for the hospitalists who use POCUS and administrators who oversee its use. We discuss POCUS 1) applications, 2) training, 3) assessments, and 4) program management. Practicing hospitalists must continue to collaborate with their local credentialing bodies to outline requirements for POCUS use. Hospitalists should be integrally involved in decision‐making processes surrounding POCUS program management.