Project description:A 49-year-old male presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and generalized weakness. The physical examination was positive for right upper quadrant tenderness and positive Murphy's sign. Point-of-care biliary ultrasound revealed signs of emphysematous cholecystitis. Emphysematous cholecystitis is a rare biliary pathology with a high mortality rate. It differs from acute cholecystitis is many ways. It has unique ultrasound characteristics. This case highlights the use of point-of-care ultrasound to diagnose a rare biliary condition.
Project description:Testicular torsion is a urological emergency caused by the loss of testicular tissue due to ischemic damage. Rapid diagnosis and urgent treatment play a crucial role in the management of testicular torsion. Manual detorsion can be performed at the bedside, thereby reducing the duration of ischemia. Recent studies have reported the use of point-of-care ultrasonography for diagnosing testicular torsion; however, no review article has focused on the ultrasonographic findings pertaining to manual detorsion. This review describes the diagnosis of testicular torsion and the ultrasonographic indications for manual detorsion. Spermatic cord twisting or the whirlpool sign, absence of or decreased blood flow within the affected testis, abnormal testicular axis, abnormal echogenicity, and enlargement of the affected testis and epididymis due to ischemia are the sonographic findings associated with testicular torsion. The following findings are considered indications for manual detorsion: direction of testicular torsion, i.e., inner or outer direction (ultrasonographic accuracy of 70%), and the degree of spermatic cord twist. The following sonographic findings are used to determine whether the treatment was successful: presence of the whirlpool sign and the degree and extent of perfusion of the affected testis. Misdiagnosis of the direction of manual detorsion, a high degree of spermatic cord twisting and insufficient detorsion, testicular compartment syndrome, and testicular necrosis were found to result in treatment failure. The success of manual detorsion is determined based on the symptoms and sonographic findings. Subsequent surgical exploration is recommended in all cases, regardless of the success of manual detorsion.
Project description:Background and objectives: In this study, the accuracy of point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) was compared to radiography (XR) in the diagnosis of fractures, the determination of characteristics of the fractures, and treatment selection of fractures in patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) due to trauma and suspected long bone (LB) fractures. Materials and Methods: The patients were included in the study, who were admitted to ED due to trauma, and had physical examination findings suggesting the presence of fractures in LB (humerus, radius, ulna, femur, tibia, and fibula). The patients were evaluated by two emergency physicians (EP) in ED. The first EP examined LBs with POCUS and the second EP examined them with XR. LBs were evaluated on the anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral surfaces and from the proximal joint to the distal one (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle joint) in both longitudinal and transverse axes with POCUS. Results: A total of 205 patients with suspected LB fractures were included in the study. LB fractures were determined in 99 patients with XR and in 105 patients with POCUS. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value of POCUS in determining the fractures were 99%, 93%, 93%, and 99%, respectively, compared to XR. Compared to XR, POCUS was able to determine 100% of fissure type fractures (kappa (κ) value: 0.765), 83% of linear fractures (κ: 0.848), 92% of fragmented fractures(κ: 0.756), 67% of spiral fractures (κ:0.798), 75% of avulsion type fractures (κ: 0.855), and 100% of full separation type fractures (κ: 0.855). Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that POCUS has a high sensitivity in diagnosing LB fractures. POCUS has a high sensitivity in identifying fracture characteristics. POCUS can be used as an alternative imaging method to XR in the diagnosis of LB fractures and in the determination of fracture characteristics.
Project description:Hemorrhagic cholecystitis is a rare condition with several possible causes. Despite being a difficult diagnosis, it is an important one considering the fatal possibility for the patient. The following is the case of a 68-year-old patient with dual antiplatelet therapy, who underwent coronary angiography and angioplasty in a hypocoagulate setting, developing a hemorrhagic cholecystitis. This article seeks to recognize the importance of this differential diagnosis in hypocoagulated patients with abdominal pain.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) has recently become a useful tool that intensivists are incorporating into clinical practice. However, the incorporation of ultrasonography in critical care in developing countries is not straightforward. METHODS:Our objective was to investigate current practice and education regarding POCUS among Brazilian intensivists. A national survey was administered to Brazilian intensivists using an electronic questionnaire. Questions were selected by the Delphi method and assessed topics included organizational issues, POCUS technique and training patterns, machine availability, and main applications of POCUS in daily practice. RESULTS:Of 1533 intensivists who received the questionnaire, 322 responded from all of Brazil's regions. Two hundred and five (63.8%) reported having access to an ultrasound machine dedicated to the intensive care unit (ICU); however, this was more likely in university hospitals than in non-university hospitals (80.6 vs. 59.6%; risk ratio [RR]?=?1.35 [1.16-1.58], p?=?0.002). The main applications of POCUS were ultrasound-guided central vein catheterization (49.4%) and bedside echocardiographic assessment (33.9%). Two hundred and fifty-eight (80.0%) reported having at least one POCUS-trained intensivist in their staff (trained units). Trained units were more likely to perform routine ultrasound-guided jugular vein catheterization than non-trained units (38.6 vs. 16.4%; RR?=?2.35 [1.31-4.23], p?=?0.001). The proportion of POCUS-trained intensivists and availability of a dedicated ultrasound machine were both independently associated with performing ultrasound-guided jugular vein catheterization (RR?=?1.91 [1.32-2.77], p?=?0.001) and (RR?=?2.20 [1.26-3.29], p?=?0.005), respectively. CONCLUSIONS:A significant proportion of Brazilian ICUs had at least one intensivist with POCUS capability in their staff. Although ultrasound-guided central vein catheterization constitutes the main application of POCUS, adherence to guideline recommendations is still suboptimal.
Project description:BackgroundHistorically, US in the paediatric setting has mostly been the domain of radiologists. However, in the last decade, there has been an uptake of non-radiologist point-of-care US.ObjectiveTo gain an overview of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US in paediatrics.Materials and methodsWe conducted a scoping review regarding the uses of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US, quality of examinations and training, patient perspective, financial costs and legal consequences following the use of non-radiologist point-of-care US. We conducted an advanced search of the following databases: Medline, Embase and Web of Science Conference Proceedings. We included published original research studies describing abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US in children. We limited studies to English-language articles from Western countries.ResultsWe found a total of 5,092 publications and selected 106 publications for inclusion: 39 studies and 51 case reports or case series on the state-of-art of abdominal non-radiologist point-of-care US, 14 on training of non-radiologists, and 1 each on possible harms following non-radiologist point-of-care US and patient satisfaction. According to included studies, non-radiologist point-of-care US is increasingly used, but no standardised training guidelines exist. We found no studies regarding the financial consequences of non-radiologist point-of-care US.ConclusionThis scoping review supports the further development of non-radiologist point-of-care US and underlines the need for consensus on who can do which examination after which level of training among US performers. More research is needed on training non-radiologists and on the costs-to-benefits of non-radiologist point-of-care US.
Project description:BackgroundThis study aimed to assess the patient-rated level of discomfort during point-of-care ultrasonography (POCUS) of the heart, lungs and deep veins in a population of patients admitted to an ED with respiratory symptoms and to what extent the patients would accept being assessed by the use of POCUS if they had to be examined for possible disease.MethodsA questionnaire-based observational study was conducted in an ED. Inclusion criteria were one or more of the following: respiratory rate > 20/min, oxygen saturation < 95 %, oxygen therapy initiated, dyspnoea, cough or chest pain. Patients were examined by the use of POCUS of the heart, lungs and deep veins. Patient-rated level of discomfort and acceptance were assessed using a standardised questionnaire.ResultsThe median duration of the sonographic examinations was 12 min (IQR 11-13, range 9-23). The median patient-rated level of discomfort for all three types of POCUS was 1 (IQR 1-1, range 1-8) on a scale from 1 to 10. All but one patient (99.6 % (95 % CI: 98.9-100 %)), would accept being examined by the use of POCUS as a part of routine ED diagnostics.ConclusionsThe patient-rated level of discomfort during POCUS of the heart, lungs and deep veins is very low and the vast majority of patients would accept being assessed by the use of POCUS if the patients once again had to be examined for possible disease.
Project description:Vomiting-induced pneumomediastinum is a rare presentation and can be a result of alveolar rupture (Mackler effect) or Boerhaave syndrome. Patients diagnosed with Boerhaave syndrome may present with the classic Mackler triad of vomiting, chest pain, and subcutaneous emphysema. However, there exists a large overlap of symptoms accompanying Boerhaave syndrome and the Macklin effect, including retrosternal chest pain, neck discomfort, cough, sore throat, dysphagia, dysphonia, and dyspnea. Boerhaave syndrome is a dangerous condition. Delayed diagnosis of Boerhaave syndrome may worsen sepsis and cause mortality. Therefore, early diagnosis and timely management are important to prevent further complications. Here, we present a case of vomiting-induced pneumomediastinum, which supports the use of bedside ultrasonography to aid in the diagnosis and rapid differentiation of etiology of pneumomediastinum.
Project description:Point of care ultrasonography can be a valuable adjunct to conventional physical examination in patients with hyponatremia that aids in clinical decision making. It can address the shortcomings of traditional volume status assessment such as the inherent low sensitivity of 'classic' signs such as lower extremity edema. Herein, we present a case of a 35-year-old woman where discrepant clinical findings led to confusion in the accurate assessment of volume status but addition of point of care ultrasonography helped to guide the therapy.