Echocardiography
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A patient with heart failure due to nonischemic cardiomyopathy presented as a transfer to our institution following peripheral (femoral) venoarterial (VA) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) placement. With peripheral VA ECMO cannulation, the patient continued to have unstable ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Echocardiography demonstrated left ventricular (LV) dilation and severe mitral regurgitation (MR) with clinical and chest X-ray evidence of pulmonary edema. ⋯ There was subsequent improvement in pulmonary edema. This case is thought to be the first demonstration of real time resolution of pulmonary venous flow reversal in a patient undergoing LA-VA ECMO cannulation. This demonstration offers important mechanistic insight into some of the potential benefits of such an approach.
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The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) led to a large influx of critically ill patients and altered echocardiography laboratory workflow. We developed a point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) first approach to patients requiring echocardiography and describe our workflow and findings. ⋯ Our POCUS workflow allowed intensivists to perform cardiac sonography for rapid bedside diagnosis of pathology with immediate interpretation performed by echocardiographers. At least 3 views were obtained in the majority of cases.