Thoracic Ultrasound - 07/04/12

Doi : 10.1016/j.emc.2011.12.003

Joel P. Turner, MD, MSc, FRCP ^a,^b,^c,^d,^⁎ , Jerrald Dankoff, MDCM, CSPQ ^e
^a McGill Emergency Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^b Royal College Emergency Medicine Residency Training Program, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^c Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Training Program, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^d Emergency Department, Jewish General Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
^e Emergency Department, Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Corresponding author. Department of Emergency Medicine, Jewish General Hospital, 3755 Côte-Sainte-Catherine Road, Room D-010, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3T 1E2, Canada.

Résumé

Dyspnea and hypotension often present a diagnostic challenge to the emergency physician. With limitations on traditional methods of evaluating these patients, lung ultrasound has become an essential assessment tool. With the sensitivity of lung ultrasound approaching that of CT scan for many indications, it is quickly becoming a fundamental technique in assessing patients with thoracic emergencies. This article reviews the principles of thoracic ultrasound; describes the important evidence-based sonographic features found in pneumothorax, pleural effusion, pneumonia, and pulmonary edema; and provides a framework of how to use thoracic ultrasound to aid in assessing a patient with severe dyspnea.

Le texte complet de cet article est disponible en PDF.

Keywords : Ultrasound, Thoracic, Pneumothorax, Pleural effusion, Pneumonia, Blue, B-lines, Pleural line