• Adrian Wong, Gibran Timothy Yusuf, and MalbrainManu L N GMLNGFaculty of Engineering, Department of Electronics and Informatics, VUB, Brussels, Belgium..
• Department of Critical Care.
• Curr Opin Crit Care. 2021 Apr 1; 27 (2): 147156147-156.

Purpose Of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to summarize the utilization and most recent developments with regard to the use of ultrasound when imaging the abdomen and gastrointestinal tract.Recent FindingsAlthough the use of ultrasound to assess the anatomy of the various abdominal organs is well established within radiology and critical care, its use as part of functional and physiological assessment is still evolving. Recent developments have extended the use of ultrasound beyond standard B-mode/2D imaging techniques to incorporate more functional and haemodynamic assessment. These include the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS), elastography, and colour Doppler techniques.SummaryWhilst Doppler techniques are reasonably well established within critical care ultrasound (CCUS), especially in echocardiography, CEUS and elastography are less well known. CEUS utilizes a purely intravascular contrast agent whilst elastography measures the degree of deformation or stiffness in various organs. Whilst their use individually may be limited; they may play a role in a multiparametric assessment. Mirroring the overall trends in critical care ultrasound development, abdominal ultrasound assessment is best integrated in a holistic approach and adapted to the individual patient.Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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