Bones are very echogenic, which makes their ultrasound appearance a bright white line that is often easy to see – particularly in the case of superficial long bones. That’s what makes ultrasound a great way to find fractures. Let’s look at some examples.
Continue readingultrasound
Probe Orientation in Cardiac Ultrasound
Learners often struggle with which direction to point the probe marker when scanning the heart. Hopefully this is a quick fix.
Continue readingTighten the screws on your lung ultrasound
Lung ultrasound is quick, easy, and very helpful in a patient with undifferentiated shortness of breath. There are, however, a few subtleties that I often see learners not grasp. Let’s clear it up.
Continue readingMake your DVT studies worth the risk
I’ve done this topic before, but I left some meat on that bone. Let’s get into the weeds.
Continue readingBladder Ultrasound: part 3
In part 3 of our discussion about the uses of bladder ultrasound in the emergency department, we consider the case of a 70 year-old man with urinary retention in whom we were unable to place a urinary catheter.
Continue readingBladder Ultrasound: part 2
Part two in our three part series on bladder ultrasound. We will look at two cases.
Continue readingBladder Ultrasound: part 1
Something that I’ve got a lot of mileage out of recently is bladder ultrasound.
Continue readingRegional Wall Motion Abnormality
A 45 year-old man presents by EMS after a VF arrest. On arrival at the ED he has a pulse. An ECG shows an anterior STEMI. The cath lab is activated and the cardiologist is en route. While waiting for the cavalry to arrive, you ultrasound his heart and strike gold.
Continue readingA Tale of Two Clots
A thrombus in the heart is really the holy grail of point-of-care ultrasound. Here are two great examples.
Continue readingUltrasound Guided Needle Placement
I spent some time this week with the interns shoring up their technique for using ultrasound in vascular access. Specifically, I’m referring to an out-of-plane approach – which I recommend in most cases as it lets you see the needle in relation to any large arteries or nerves that may be around.
I think if I had one point to reinforce, it would be the fact that this a dynamic process for BOTH HANDS.
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