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August 28, 2025

Ultrasound scanning of the appendix

Appendicitis is one of the most common causes of acute abdominal pain in both children and adults, and remains the most frequent abdominal surgical emergency globally, with approximately 50,000 acute appendicectomies performed annually in the UK. Timely diagnosis is key for optimising outcomes with appropriate treatment. Delays in diagnosis and initiation of treatment can lead […]

Dr Ruth Reeve, Dr Anmol Gangi-Burton, Dr Althaf Abdul Rasheed, Dr Mohammad Hussein Abdi

Portsmouth University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

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July 29, 2025

Poke the paunch with POCUS: gastrointestinal ultrasound in emergency medicine

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) continues to revolutionise the evaluation of abdominal complaints in emergency and acute settings. Its real-time diagnostic potential, portability and noninvasiveness make it a powerful tool in the clinician’s arsenal, particularly when gastrointestinal (GI) pathology is suspected. This article aims to highlight the clinical reasoning, technique and diagnostic markers that underpin effective gastrointestinal […]

Dr Anna Colclough, Dominic Craver

Lewisham Hospital

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December 18, 2024

The use of abdominal ultrasound in small animal gastrointestinal medicine

Abdominal ultrasound is increasingly available in the veterinary sector in both primary care and specialist practice. This has led to its employment in gastrointestinal (GI) medicine. GI disorders, ie vomiting and diarrhoea, both acute and chronic disease form a large part of the primary care and specialist veterinary case load. When applied appropriately, abdominal ultrasound […]

Dr Rebecca Littler

Peninsula Vet Referrals

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March 13, 2024

When to ablate renal tumours?

Renal cancer is the seventh most common cancer in the UK. The majority of these are picked up incidentally when patients have scans for other symptoms. By the time patients have typical symptoms of renal cancer, such as abdominal pain or haematuria, the tumour may be quite advanced.

Dr Salil Karkhanis

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham

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March 13, 2024

Management of upper GI bleed

One of the most common medical emergencies in the UK is acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB), with approximately one presentation reported every six minutes. Overall incidence of UGIB in the UK ranges from 84-172 per 100,000 of the population per year. Despite the advancement in medical therapies, the overall hospital mortality rate is still high […]

Dr Peng Kwan Ng, Dr Elizabeth O'Grady

Aintree University Hospital

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August 16, 2023

Implementation of a national training programme for CTC

The National CT Colonography Training and Accreditation Programme (NCTCTAP) was created to enhance and improve CT colonography (CTC) training in the UK. This initiative was supported by NHS England and pump primed by Health Education England (HEE) as part of the COVID-19 pandemic recovery plan in London.

Rachel Baldwin-Cleland, Dr Ingrid Britton, Dr Jawaad Farrukh

St Mark's Hospital, London; University Hospitals North Midlands NHS Trust

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August 16, 2023

The role of ultrasound in treating liver cancer

The diagnostic uses of ultrasound in liver cancer are well established. Ultrasound plays a key role in surveillance, biopsy and, increasingly, in characterisation, with the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). The treatment of liver cancer using ultrasound is perhaps less well appreciated. Ultrasound is used in the treatment of liver cancer in two ways: firstly […]

Dr Peter Littler, Dr Benjamin Stenberg

Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne

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November 17, 2021

Management of solid organ trauma

In the last two decades, management of blunt and penetrating solid organ trauma has seen a major transition from operative management (OM) or damage control surgery (DCS) to non-operative management (NOM), guided principally by the haemodynamic stability of the patient. This shift is predominantly due to better knowledge of the natural history of solid organ […]