Echocardiography and Ultrasound in the Intensive Care Unit
Sonography in the intensive care unit is a rapidly emerging point-of-care diagnostic tool. Literature supports the use of sonography for the evaluation of lung pathology, protocol based focused cardiac evaluation, and abdominal pathology, as well as identifying deep venous thrombosis. There is also evidence that ultrasound guided procedures such as venous access, thoracentesis, and paracentesis may decrease complications compared to a landmark based technique. However, there is ambiguity in the literature regarding definition, scope, and training in this modality as used by intensivists. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a broad overview of the role of ultrasound in the ICU and data supporting the use of point-of-care protocols. This chapter does not provide instruction on how to perform a complete transthoracic or transesophageal exam, nor does it provide a library of images of various pathologies since a reader seeking such depth would be better served by a full textbook on echocardiography.