Emergency Ultrasound: Difference between revisions
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==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
The use of portable [[ultrasound]] at the bedside of patients in the emergency department to diagnose and to | The use of portable [[ultrasound]] at the bedside of patients in the emergency department to diagnose, guide treatment, and to facilitate procedures. Emergency Ultrasound (EUS, also known as bedside ultrasound) differs from the conventional paradigm for medical imaging in North America in that the study is performed and contemporaneously by the physician at the bedside of the patient in the Emergency Department compared to the traditional approach where the patient travels to a radiology suite where the test is performed by a technician and then interpreted by a radiologist or other specialist. The primary advantage of this approach is more rapid diagnosis and treatment for emergent conditions. The major drawback is that studies are typically more limited due to the more limited imaging and interpretive skills of emergency physicians. | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Emergency Medicine]] | ||
==FAST Scan== | ==FAST Scan== | ||
Revision as of 18:04, 13 February 2009
Editor-in-Chief: Casey Glass, M.D. [1]
Introduction
The use of portable ultrasound at the bedside of patients in the emergency department to diagnose, guide treatment, and to facilitate procedures. Emergency Ultrasound (EUS, also known as bedside ultrasound) differs from the conventional paradigm for medical imaging in North America in that the study is performed and contemporaneously by the physician at the bedside of the patient in the Emergency Department compared to the traditional approach where the patient travels to a radiology suite where the test is performed by a technician and then interpreted by a radiologist or other specialist. The primary advantage of this approach is more rapid diagnosis and treatment for emergent conditions. The major drawback is that studies are typically more limited due to the more limited imaging and interpretive skills of emergency physicians.
FAST Scan
The FAST scan consist of scanning four areas:
1) Subxiphoid - to visualize the heart.
2) Right upper quadrant (RUQ) - to visualize Morrison's pouch and paracolic gutter.
3) Left upper quadrant (LUQ) - to visualize the spleeno-renal recess and paracolic gutter.
4) Suprapubic - to visualize Douglas' pouch.