Critical care clinics
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Use of bedside ultrasound to guide simple procedures increases safety by allowing real-time visualization of patient anatomy. This article discusses ultrasound guidance for basic procedures including peripheral and central intravenous access, arterial access, suprapubic aspiration, abscess incision and drainage, foreign body identification, and joint arthrocentesis. It reviews the indications and complications of the procedure, advantages of ultrasound guidance, anatomy, and procedural technique.
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Ultrasound guidance has become the standard of care for many bedside procedures, owing to its portability, ease of use, and significant reduction in complications. This article serves as an introduction to the use of ultrasonography in several advanced procedures, including pericardiocentesis, thoracentesis, paracentesis, lumbar puncture, regional anesthesia, and peritonsillar abscess drainage.
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Critical care clinics · Apr 2014
ReviewDiagnostic Ultrasonography for Peripheral Vascular Emergencies.
Over the past decade, emergency and critical care physicians have been empowered with the ability to use bedside ultrasonography to assist in the evaluation and management of a variety of emergent conditions. Today a single health care provider at the bedside with Duplex ultrasound technology can evaluate peripheral vascular calamities that once required significant time and a variety of health care personnel for the diagnosis. This article highlights peripheral thromboembolic disease, aneurysm, pseudoaneurysm, and arterial occlusion in the acute care setting.
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Many ocular emergencies are difficult to diagnose in the emergency setting with conventional physical examination tools. Additionally, persistent efforts to re-examine the eye may be deleterious to a patient's overall condition. ⋯ The importance of understanding orbital anatomy, with attention to the firm attachment points of the various layers of the eye, cannot be understated. This article describes the relevant eye anatomy, delves into the ultrasound technique, and illustrates a variety of orbital pathologies detectable by bedside ultrasound.
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Critical care clinics · Apr 2014
ReviewBedside Ultrasonography for Obstetric and Gynecologic Emergencies.
There has been an increase in the availability and use of bedside ultrasonography in the acute care setting. The approach to the female patient with a pelvic complaint (including pelvic pain, vaginal bleeding, vaginal bleeding in pregnancy, or vaginal discharge) has been transformed by the use of bedside ultrasonography. Providers familiar with the transabdominal and transvaginal (endocavitary) ultrasonographic examination can obtain more accurate information faster, thereby improving time to consultation or discharge and achieving an increase in patient satisfaction. This article reviews the use of ultrasonography for evaluation of obstetric and gynecologic complaints in the acute care setting.