Thoracic POCUS + Lung Ultrasound Flashcards
a thoracic POCUS evaluates:
1) Pleural air
2) Pleural fluid
3) Pericardial fluid
4) Bedside echo
a lung ultrasound evaluates:
Dry lung (normal)
Wet lung (disease)
Consolidated lung
Nodules
a dry lung is a lung that is
full of air (normal)
What are the benefits of thoracic POCUS
-Done bedside
-Discriminating
-Inexpensive
-Radiation sparing
-Repeatable
What probe do you do thoracic POCUS with
curvilinear 5-10mHz
How do you do thoracic POCUS
-Probe perpendicular to ribs
-Notch towards head
-Depth varies
-Pause at each intercostal space: tells motion of the lungs
For thoracic POCUS, the probe should always be places
perpendicular to ribs
ribs give a landmark to tell where you are
For thoracic POCUS, the notch should always face
towards the patient’s head
What is the safest patient position for patient positioning
Sternal or standing -
most of lung volume is located dorsally
if flipped on back, gravity collapses lungs
What are the layers that you should know when doing thoracic POCUS
1) Ribs
2) Parietal pleura (doesnt move)
3) Layer of serous fluid
4) Visceral pleural (attached to lung)
5) Lubrication fluid
6) Lung
Pathology in the pleural space causes separation of the
Parietal pleura and viscera pleura
to see the gator sign, the probe needs to be positioned
perpendicular to the ribs
What is the gator sign
a sign that is seen when you position the probe perpendicular to the rubs
each eyeball is the rib head and you see a pleural line connecting the two eyes
as well as rib shadows
What is the glide sign
parietal pleura (attached to body wall) meets the viscera pleura (stuck to lung surface) slides past each other as the lung changes in shape in expiration and inspiration
With the glide sign, what should you be looking for
1) Two pleural surfaces are in contact with one another (no air or fluid between)
2) That you have lung underneath that is air filled
T/F: ultrasound waves can penetrate air
False
How does pneumothorax impact glide sign
it causes it to be absent
What are the 5 sites in thoracic POCUS
1) Caudo-dorsal site (Left & Right)
2) Middle (Left & Right)
3) Subxiphoid
What is the purpose of the caudodorsal site on thoracic POCUS
screen for pneumothorax
-air always rises
-if the patient has a glide sign then no pneumothorax (especially here)
T/F: if the patient is in lateral then the caudodorsal site is not the preferred site to screen for pneumothorax
False- thorax is dome shaped. this is still the place you should screen for pneumothorax
How do you get to the caudodorsal site for thoracic POCUS
palpate the xiphoid and go straight up
aiming for intersection of middle 1/3 and dorsal 1/3 of thorax
What does a pneumothorax look like on thoracic POCUS
there is no glide sign
the visceral pleura drops away from the parietal pleura
cant see the lung because ultrasound cant penetrate air
if you see the absense of a glide sign on ultrasound, what can you do to confirm
aspirate and if you get air then you get your diagnosis
if you lose your glide sign, how might you move the probe to confirm it
move it cranioventrally
this is because air moves upwards