Cardiac Point-Of-Care Ultrasound: An Emergency Medicine Review.

Cardiac point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) can make critical diagnoses and monitor the response to interventions. In contrast with consultative echocardiography, cardiac POCUS serves to answer a specific clinical question. This imaging modality can be used to evaluate for left ventricular systolic and diastolic dysfunction, pericardial effusion and tamponade, acute and chronic right ventricular dysfunction, valvular dysfunction, and cardiac activity in cardiac arrest.

Echocardiographic diagnosis and clinical implications of wide-open tricuspid regurgitation for evaluating right ventricular dysfunction in the emergency department.

The tricuspid regurgitation pressure gradient (TRPG) reflects the difference in pressure between the right ventricle and right atrium (ΔP). Its estimation by echocardiography correlates well with that obtained using right-heart catheterization. An elevated TRPG is an important marker for identifying right ventricular dysfunction in both the acute and chronic settings.

Is pulmonary hypertension protective against cardiac tamponade? A systematic review.

The presence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) may affect whether cardiac tamponade physiology develops from a pericardial effusion. Specifically, the increased intracardiac pressure and right ventricular hypertrophy associated with PH would seemingly increase the intrapericardial pressure threshold at which the right-sided chambers collapse. In this systematic review, we examined the impact of PH on the incidence, in-hospital and long-term mortality, and echocardiographic findings of patients with cardiac tamponade.

What echocardiographic findings differentiate acute pulmonary embolism and chronic pulmonary hypertension?

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are potentially fatal disease states. Early diagnosis and goal-directed management improve outcomes and survival. Both conditions share several echocardiographic findings of right ventricular dysfunction.

Pericardial tamponade: A comprehensive emergency medicine and echocardiography review.

Introduction: Pericardial tamponade requires timely diagnosis and management. It carries a high mortality rate.

Objective: This review incorporates available evidence to clarify misconceptions regarding the clinical presentation, while providing an in-depth expert guide on bedside echocardiography.

Teaching Module on Ultrasound-Guided Venous Access Using a Homemade Gel Model for Fourth-Year Medical Students.

Introduction: Evidence supports an ultrasound-guided approach in patients with difficult vascular access. Prior research on teaching ultrasound-guided intravenous access has included only small groups of first- and second-year medical students.

Methods: We enrolled fourth-year medical students in our teaching module.