Ultrasound Flashcards
Bedside ultrasound is:
Focused screening
Goal directed
Bedside ultrasound is NOT:
Comprehensive or replacement for formal studies/consults
How does US work?
- Electricity passed through crystals - converted into mechanical pulse vibrations
- Returning vibrations converted back into electrical energy within transducer
- Energy converted into image by processor (which takes into account speed and intensity of returning pulses)
What does black on US indicate? White? Homogenous?
Black: fluid
White: stones, bones, air
Homogenous: organs
Types of transducers
- Linear (vascular)
- Curved array (abdominal)
- Phased array (cardiac)
- Endocavitary (vaginal)
What do the knobs on US control?
- Gain
- Depth
- Freeze
- Color
What can be assessed in relation to the eye by US?
- Retinal detachment
- Foreign bodies
- Optic nerve sheath measurement (ICP)
What can be assessed in relation to the throat by US?
Peritonsillar abscess
What can be assessed in relation to the lungs by US?
- PTX
- CHF
- Pleural effusion
- PNA
- PE
What can be assessed in relation to the heart by US?
- Pericardial effusion/tamponade
- Pericarditis
- MI
- Cardiac arrest (PEA)
- Aortic dissection
How can traumatic injuries to the abdomen be assessed by US?
FAST - focused assessment with sonography for trauma (screening for blood around abdominal organs)
What non-traumatic abdominal conditions can be assessed by US?
- Cholecystitis
- AAA
- Kidney stone
- Hypovolemia
- SBO
- Intussusception/appendicitis (pediatrics)
What areas are assessed by FAST?
- Morison’s pouch
- Perisplenic
- Subcostal
- Suprapubic
What pelvic conditions can be assessed by US?
- Fetal viability in females
- Testicular torsion in males
What vascular conditions can be assessed by US?
Central and peripheral lines
