French military general practitioner: ultrasound practice

Area of Science:

• Medical imaging
• Point-of-care ultrasound
• Military medicine

Background:

• Ultrasound use in emergency medicine and field settings spans over two decades.
• Technological advancements have made ultrasound devices accessible to general practitioners (GPs).
• Military GPs in isolated environments can particularly benefit from ultrasound technology.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the training of French military GPs in ultrasonography.
• To assess the daily practice and deployment use of ultrasound devices by military GPs in isolated settings.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was distributed in 2011 to 147 in-field GPs of the French southeast regional military health service.
• The survey evaluated ultrasonography training, daily practice use in France, and use during military operations abroad in 2010.

Main Results:

• A 52% response rate was achieved.
• Half of the responding GPs received specialized ultrasound training, primarily in military institutions (97%).
• Only 25% of GPs incorporated ultrasound into their daily practice, but 75% of these used it during overseas operations.

Conclusions:

• Ultrasound use abroad proved valuable for clinical reasoning (41%), diagnosis (21%), and evacuation decisions (11%).
• Future efforts should focus on mandatory ultrasound training for all military GPs deployed overseas.
• Developing daily practice and effective triage systems combining ultrasound and physical examination is crucial.