Overview Significant advancements have been made in the use of ultrasound technology since its inception in the early 1950s. These advances have revolutionized the practice of critical care medicine. Currently, clinicians in the intensive care unit (ICU) have at their…
Overview Ultrasound has become a permanent part of the evaluation of trauma patients ever since its first use in the emergency department more than 30 years ago. First used in Europe in the 1970s, abdominal ultrasound ultimately replaced diagnostic peritoneal…
Overview Lung ultrasound is becoming a standard diagnostic and therapeutic tool in the management of intensive care unit (ICU) patients, as analyzed extensively in this section of the book. It helps the clinician to rapidly evaluate thoracic pathologies and guide…
A-line: Sonographic reverberations of the pleural line. These hyperechoic horizontal lines appear at regular intervals deep to the pleural line and between the rib shadows. B-line: Also called a lung rocket, this hyperechoic vertical sonographic artifact arises from the inferior…
Overview Arterial catheterization is a frequent and essential procedure that is used in the intensive care unit (ICU) for accurate hemodynamic monitoring and repeated sampling of blood for analysis. Blind or palpated catheter insertion can be difficult because pulsations and…
Ultrasound-guided vascular access (UGVA) was introduced in the preceding chapter. This chapter highlights a few tips for novices as well as additional techniques and innovations that would assist skilled operators in definitively identifying the target vessel and improving catheterization in…