Editorial: Experiences and advances in endocrinology point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)

Abstract

Editorial on the Research TopicExperiences and advances in endocrinology point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS)Ultrasound is one of the most important imaging techniques in medicine and has endless advantages including portability, non-invasiveness, low cost, absence of radiation or contrast, real-time imaging, ease of use, and bedside assessment, in addition to facilitating decisions in medical practice (1-3). This method provides the physician with greater skill in caring for patients and improves the information collected upon physical examination (4, 5).Advances in technology associated with the growth of medical ultrasound education in undergraduate studies have facilitated the integration of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) not only in radiology and cardiology but also into a wider variety of fields such as anesthesia and emergency medicine (6, 7). In endocrinology, the use of ultrasonography is also widely used, and the evaluation of the thyroid should be highlighted (4, 8).It is important to emphasize that this imaging technique is also being used to guide many procedures, biopsies, and surgeries (9).The objective of the Research Topic "Experiences and advances in endocrinology point-ofcare ultrasound (POCUS)" was to gather original research articles and review illustrations of the recent advances concerning the roles of ultrasound and its support in clinical practice especially in endocrinology. This Research Topic consists of five original articles.Two original articles deal with the theme interventional ultrasound to guide procedures in thyroid. Minimally invasive measures are applied in nodules and tumors like laser ablation, ethanol ablation, and radiofrequency ablation. Both articles highlighted the importance of diagnosing thyroid nodules and predicting the differentiation between benign and malignant lesions and is never too much to emphasize that ultrasound is the first-line imaging examination for the malignancy risk assessment of thyroid nodules (1). Yong-ping et al. investigated the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous laser ablation for treating recurrent papillary thyroid cancer nodules. They showed that the ultrasound-guided laser ablation is minimally invasive and common for patients with thyroid nodules and is a clinically effective, repeatable, and efficient outpatient treatment that is well-tolerated and isFrontiers in Endocrinology frontiersin.org 01