Tamingthesru
Just the thing for the faint of heart!
As Emergency Physicians, we pride ourselves on taking care of critically ill, undifferentiated patients. As technology as advanced, we’ve been able to add more and more tools to our arsenal to help guide the management of these patients. One such tool is cardiac ultrasonography. It is able to give us dynamic information about the patient, rule out life threatening pathology such as tamponade, and even help guide resuscitation in cardiac arrest. All of this, however hinges on the physician having the knowledge and skills to employ this in our fast paced environment. Are your skills up to snuff? Find out after the jump!
Cardiac Ultrasound Q&A
5 Questions and Answers to Test your Knowledge of Bedside Cardiac Ultrasound
Think FAST!
The ultrasound machine has quickly become a fixture in the emergency department. For good reason, the machine often lives in the trauma or resuscitation bay, seemingly anxiously awaiting use. In recent years we have seen multiple protocols and algorithms for the use of ultrasound in differentiating trauma patients. There is no doubt that it can be a powerful tool in these patients, but one must be adept with its use and aware of potential pitfalls in order to use ultrasound effectively in these high pressure situations.