The Bristol Royal Hospital for Children has invested in a SONOSITE S-ICU point-of-care ultrasound system for its paediatric nephrology unit. Dr Jan Dudley, consultant in paediatric nephrology, explained:
“We provide services such as dialysis to a population of four million across South West England, and transplantation to a population of six million across South West England and South Wales. Renal biopsies carry a small risk of haemorrhage, which may be serious, particularly in transplanted kidneys. It is generally agreed that best practice is to use real-time ultrasound localisation. Our ultrasound system had become outdated – we knew that newer systems were available that offered superior image quality – and so earlier this year we purchased the S-ICU. “Our S-ICU has a very specific purpose; we use it predominantly for localising for renal biopsies and occasionally for establishing bladder fullness. Ultrasound enables us to perform realtime localisation, visualising the needle as it enters the kidney and ensuring that tissue samples are collected safely. The system is straightforward to use, and the training we received was very helpful. The larger screen and huge step up in image quality compared to our old instrument make it much easier to follow the needle during biopsies – it is a big improvement.”
