Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
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Since the advent of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, clinicians have had to modify how they provide high-value care while mitigating the risk of viral spread. Routine imaging studies have been discouraged due to elevated transmission risk. ⋯ POCUS will allow a clinician to evaluate and monitor cardiac and pulmonary function, as well as evaluate for thromboembolic disease, place an endotracheal tube, confirm central venous catheter placement, and rule out a pneumothorax. If a patient improves sufficiently to perform weaning trials, POCUS can also help evaluate readiness for ventilator liberation.
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Case Reports
Point-of-Care Ultrasound-Guided Drainage of Joint Effusions in the Pediatric Emergency Setting: A Case Series.
Literature supporting the use of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) for both identification and aspiration of effusions in large joints in the pediatric emergency department (PED) is sparse. We collected a case series of five patients who presented to the PED from August 2020 to December 2020 with an effusion in the hip, shoulder, knee, or elbow identified and aspirated under POCUS performed by pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) physicians. ⋯ POCUS can also guide the decision to start antibiotics earlier in the course of illness, can prevent unnecessary transfers for formal sonographic imaging or for potentially unnecessary radiographic imaging. This series supports the role of a PEM physician and POCUS guidance in the identification and aspiration of large-joint effusions.
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We compared 2 imaging modalities in patients suspected of having coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia. Blinded to the results of real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) testing, lung ultrasound (LUS) examinations and chest computed tomography (CT) were performed, and the specific characteristics of these imaging studies were assessed. ⋯ Lung ultrasound had good reliability compared to chest CT. Therefore, our results indicate that LUS may be used to assess patients suspected of having COVID-19 pneumonia.
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From its start in China in December 2019, infection by the new SARS-CoV2 spread fast all over the world. It can present as severe respiratory distress in the elderly or a vasculitis in a child, most of whom are typically completely asymptomatic. ⋯ Lung ultrasound has become an important tool in diagnosis and follow-up of patient with COVID-19 infection. Here we review available, up to date literature on ultrasound use for COVID-19 suspected pediatric patients and contrast it to published findings in adult patients.
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This prospective study was performed to evaluate the diagnostic role of point-of-care lung ultrasound (LUS) and inferior vena cava (IVC) ultrasound in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). ⋯ In the ED setting, an assessment of B-lines and measurement of IVC diameters are better markers than the B-type natriuretic peptide level, EF, or chest x-ray for diagnosis of ADHF and can be used to make decisions for hospitalization or discharge from the ED.