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Thoracic Ultrasonography in the Critically Ill

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Ultrasonography in the ICU

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Abstract

One of the many possible applications for portable ultrasonography in an intensive care unit is in the rapid detection and bedside treatment of thoracic pathology. Traditionally, a majority of critically ill patients still undergo portable diagnostic chest radiographs, often daily. The addition of thoracic ultrasonography to the patient’s care can improve both diagnostic and therapeutic abilities.

In the thorax, the most common applications of ultrasonography are management of pneumothoraces and fluid within the pleural cavity, whether this is blood or an effusion. Thoracic ultrasound not only allows us to diagnose these conditions, but we can effectively treat them and assess the therapeutic effect of treatments using this technology. Additionally, accessing the pleural cavity under ultrasound guidance increases the safety of the procedure, can save time and obviates the need for transport with all its inherent risk. This chapter aims to elaborate upon the diagnostic findings and procedures that can be performed using thoracic ultrasonography as well as analyzing the literature on the use of ultrasonography for thoracic pathology in ICU.

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Acknowledgements

With grateful thanks to Dr. Srikar Adikhari who generously aided in the supply of high-quality images and videos for this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, University of Arizona, 1501 N Campbell Ave, PO Box 245063, 85712, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Arpana Jain & Terence O’Keeffe

  2. Department of Surgery, University of Arizona Medical Center, 1501 North Campbell Avenue, 85724, Tucson, AZ, USA

    John M. Watt

Authors
  1. Arpana Jain
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  3. Terence O’Keeffe
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Correspondence to Arpana Jain .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA

    Paula Ferrada

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Appendix

Appendix

Video 2.1 Lung sliding.

Video 2.2 Lung point sign.

Video 2.3 Hemothorax moving with respirations.

Video 2.4 “Tidaling” in pigtail catheter.

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Jain, A., Watt, J., O’Keeffe, T. (2015). Thoracic Ultrasonography in the Critically Ill. In: Ferrada, P. (eds) Ultrasonography in the ICU. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11876-5_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11876-5_2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-11875-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11876-5

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