Technique and uses of Lung Ultrasonography in Critical Care Setting

Document Type : Review articles

Authors

1 Msc. Critical Care Medicine Assistant Lecturer of Critical Care Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt Senior Clinical Fellow of Intensive Care Medicine, King's College Hospital, United Kingdom

2 MSc. Critical Care Medicine, Assistant lecturer of Critical Care Medicine, Cairo University Hospital, Egypt, Senior Clinical Fellow of Intensive Care Medicine at King`s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom.

3 MD Critical Care Medicine, Cairo University, Lecturer of Critical Care Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt.

4 MD Critical Care Medicine, Cairo University, Lecturer of Critical Care Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Egypt

Abstract

Recently, in the critical care practice, ultrasonography has emerged as a novel method in the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients. Lung ultrasound has been more recently introduced in practice, given the fact that, the passage of ultrasound beam through the interface between different structures creates artefacts and reverberation which is condition-specific and can be used in the diagnosis.
Common conditions i.e., pneumonia, pneumothorax, pleural effusion, and pulmonary edema can be easily diagnosed or at least ruled out by the immediate use of bedside ultrasound in an accurate way without the need for massive experience.
Being a bedside, non-invasive and easily applied and easily taught, and devoid of the risk of radiation and patient transfer for other diagnostic modalities, makes it gains more popularity as a part of Point of Care Ultrasonography (POCUS) in recent medicine
The technique and different uses of lung ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients will be explained in this article department to the intensive care unit, from cardiology to pulmonology and nephrology wards.

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