Tag: ultrasound

Recommendations on the Use of Ultrasound Guidance for Adult Thoracentesis

The use of ultrasound guidance for thoracentesis has been associated with increased success rates and decreased complication rates. Ultrasound can be used to estimate the pleural fluid volume, characterize the effusion as... read more

Trick of the Trade: Bubble Study for Confirmation of Central Line Placement

The safe placement a central venous catheter (CVC) remains an important part of caring for critically ill patients. Over 5 million CVCs are placed each year in the United States. It is crucial to confirm that the central... read more

Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Intravenous Access

Obtaining intravenous (IV) access is a basic necessity in the emergency department. So what do you do when you are unable to place a peripheral IV, and your go-to external jugular line is not an option? You certainly do not... read more

Bedside Ultrasound Assessment of Lung Reaeration in Patients With Blunt Thoracic Injury Receiving High-Flow Nasal Cannula Oxygen Therapy

High-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy may be considered as an initial respiratory therapy for trauma patients with blunt chest injury. High-flow nasal cannula therapy could improve lung aeration as noted by the transthoracic... read more

Transient Systolic Anterior Motion with Junctional Rhythm After Mitral Valve Repair in the ICU

This case report shows that junctional rhythm can cause deterioration of SAM, LVOTO, and MR, and can lead to unstable hemodynamics in a patient with right ventricular failure after MVR. Atrial pacing can resolve SAM, LVOTO,... read more

Assessment of the adequacy of oxygen delivery

In this article, we review physiologic principles of global oxygen delivery, and discuss the bedside approach to assessing the adequacy of oxygen delivery in critically ill patients. Although there have been technological... read more

Ultrasound as a Screening Tool for Central Venous Catheter Positioning and Exclusion of Pneumothorax

Although real-time ultrasound guidance during central venous catheter insertion has become a standard of care, postinsertion chest radiograph remains the gold standard to confirm central venous catheter tip position and rule... read more

Chest Radiography vs. Lung Ultrasound for Identification of ARDS

For the identification of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) using the Berlin definition, both chest radiography and lung ultrasound were equally related to mortality. The Berlin definition using lung ultrasound helped... read more

When Does an Effusion Become Pericardial Tamponade?

Pericardial tamponade occurs when fluid within the pericardial sac impairs filling of the right-sided chambers, leading to a decrease in cardiac output and hemodynamic compromise. It is neither a clinical nor an echocardiographic... read more

Integration of Lung Ultrasound in the Diagnostic Reasoning in Acute Dyspneic Patients

Seventy-six physicians responded to the study cases (228 clinical cases resolved). Among the respondents, 28 (37%) were female, 64 (84%) were EPs, and the mean age was 37±8 years. The mean NUDs, respectively, when physicians... read more

Could Ultrasound-guided Internal Jugular Vein Catheter Insertion Replace the Use of Chest X-ray?

The implementation of ultrasound protocols during catheter placement has demonstrated multiple advantages that increase accuracy and allow medical teams to reduce operative time, potential complications, and procedure costs.... read more

Battle of Portable Ultrasound Devices

So here is Part 1 of the as promised portable ultrasound reviews. The aim, to un-muddy the water a bit for you all over choice and functionality. There are so many put there at the moment, we wanted to test them on the shop... read more

Diagnostic Accuracy of Chest Radiograph, and When Concomitantly Studied Lung Ultrasound, in Critically Ill Patients With Respiratory Symptoms

This meta-analysis demonstrates that chest radiograph has a low sensitivity and reasonable specificity compared with CT for detecting lung pathology in critically ill patients. The studies also investigating lung ultrasound,... read more

Ultrasound Non-invasive Measurement of Intracranial Pressure in Neurointensive Care

Of the studied ultrasound nICP methods, ONSD is the best estimator of Intracranial Pressure (ICP). The novel combination of ONSD ultrasonography and vTCD of the straight sinus is a promising and easily available technique... read more

Common pitfalls in point-of-care ultrasound: a practical guide for emergency and critical care physicians

Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) is a widely used tool in emergency and critical care settings, useful in the decision-making process as well as in interventional guidance. Following some rules in technique and interpretation,... read more

Acute Skeletal Muscle Wasting in Critical Illness

Among these critically ill patients, muscle wasting occurred early and rapidly during the first week of critical illness and was more severe among those with multiorgan failure compared with single organ failure. These findings... read more

Social Media in Critical Care: What’s All the Fuss About?

The way we communicate and learn has been revolutionized by technology. Almost all of us carry a smartphone these days, so we are never more than a phone call, message or text away from family, friends and colleagues. This... read more

Measuring and Monitoring Lean Body Mass in Critical Illness

Methods to monitor lean body mass in the ICU are under constant development, improving upon bedside usability and offering new modalities to measure. This provides clinicians with valuable markers with which to identify patients... read more

Dr. Ultrasound and Mr. Hyde: my confessions as an educator and ICU geek

I think most people in our field have had some or all of these thoughts. I feel guilty thinking them and certainly have a hard time verbalizing to other team members. Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) has swept the medical... read more

Human limb skeletal muscle wasting and architectural remodeling during five to ten days intubation and ventilation in critical care

Using ultrasound, we have been able to demonstrate that muscle thickness and architecture of vastus lateralis undergo rapid changes during the early phase of admission to a critical care environment. Muscle loss in critically... read more

ECMO – How can I make the best referral?

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO is one of those treatments we sometimes need to think about with our very sick patients. I recently had to make a referral to my local centre and doing so made me wonder what it... read more

Accuracy of Ultrasound Exam Performed by EM vs. Radiology Residents in the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis

Although the traditional approach to the diagnosis of acute appendicitis (AA) is using clinical methods, experience has shown that strict reliance on clinical data can lead to mismanagement or unnecessary surgery. US has... read more