Detecting occult hemorrhage bleeding using a new protocol called the UFOH protocol: Ultrasound Focused Occult Hemorrhage

Abstract

Point-of-care abdominal ultrasound (US) has emerged as a powerful tool for clinicians and is becoming a routine bedside tool to rapidly diagnose, manage hemodynamics, monitor fluid status, and guide procedures in emergency and critical care. Extended focused assessment with sonography for trauma (eFAST), is commonly used to detect free intraperitoneal blood in the trauma setting and may also be an option in non-trauma patients. However, it has significant limitations for detecting gastrointestinal or retroperitoneal bleeding. To date, there is no US protocol described for the diagnosis of occult bleeding in the retroperitoneal space. We describe a new US protocol called “Ultrasound For Occult Hemorrhage” (UFOH) for a fast diagnosis of occult hemorrhage. The UFOH protocol is a novel ultrasound-guided approach designed to detect occult bleeding in various clinical settings, including emergency department, intensive care and perioperative environment.