the case.
76 year old male presents to your Emergency Department via ambulance with right hip pain and a fever of 38.1*C.
FALLS protocol…
Below is the main content discussed at an ultrasound workshop I ran this week at the Sydney HEMS Clinical Governance Day.
shades of grey…
Add your thoughts here… (optional)
probe prevents probe…
Recently, a colleague of mine was wanting to perform a diagnostic tap on a patient with cough, fever and a CXR suggesting a left sided pleural effusion….
I was asked to perform a bedside USS to mark out the safest place to perform the pleural aspirate.
I percussed the chest to the dullest point and then slapped the ultrasound on (left posterior chest wall, longitudinal plane, just below tip of scapula).
This is what I saw…
Needless to say the needle was re-sheathed and the procedure aborted. I am convinced that if we were going by x-ray and clinical examination alone we would have created more problems for this guy.
What made a difference….
- Turner JP, Dankoff J. Thoracic ultrasound. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2012 May;30(2):451-73.
- Ultrasound Podcast Episode 31 (Pneumothorax & Pleural Effusion) & Episode 32 (Pneumonia & ARDS)
- Sonocloud
shades of grey…
A few days ago I was looking after a 31/40 gestation restrained passenger from low-speed MVA with a slight seatbelt abrasion in her RIF & mild suprapubic pain. She looked well, HR 70 with BP 108 systolic and no features of peritonism.
As I placed the US-probe on for her FAST, this was the first image I acquired…..
