The optimal utilisation of echocardiography in intensive care units (ICU) is not yet known; however, its use is becoming more frequent. Management change from transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in ICU is quoted to be from 3% to 50%.
A retrospective review of clinical practice was performed over a 2-month period in a tertiary adult ICU, to explore the utilisation of formal TTEs and the findings of these. The rate of management change and critical findings were investigated, along with the indication for TTE and the patient cohort.
Sixty-three TTEs were performed in 54 patients. A change in management occurred in 25.4% (16/63) of TTEs, with critical findings being found in 47.6% (30/63) of all TTEs. The most common indications for formal TTEs were incompletely differentiated or further evaluation of shock, and post arrest cardiac function.
Almost half of the TTEs performed had critical findings, with common critical findings being severe LV dysfunction, severe RV dysfunction and regional wall motion abnormalities. Despite critical findings being seen frequently, there was only management change in 25%, suggesting that several of the critical findings were already suspected, clinically confirmed or had anticipatory management prior to TTE.
Critical findings are common in critically ill patients. However, not all critical findings will lead to a change in management. Formal TTEs in the ICU should be focussed to the clinical question being asked and a screening intensivist performed bedside TTE may be appropriate in certain situations to decrease workload of cardiology department.
Oesophageal duplication cyst (EDC) is a rare congenital anomaly representing, after neuronal tumours, the second most common cause of posterior mass in children, with a prevalence of approximately 1/22,500 live births. Cervical cysts are very rare, and their antenatal detection is fairly uncommon.
We report the case of an isolated large mediastinal and cervical tubular EDC diagnosed prenatally in the third trimester.
After birth, the baby became symptomatic developing respiratory distress due to the enlargement of the cyst and she underwent excision of the mass. The post-operative evolution was very good.
Our purpose was to raise awareness of the ultrasonographic features of this condition, thus improving the rate of prenatal diagnosis and offering the parents a proper counselling regarding the prognosis and the need for a further multidisciplinary approach after birth.
Procedural guidance with ultrasound is challenging traditional medicine. And for good reason – precision is an ally whenever you are inserting a needle into a human body. With some imagination, I am able to conjure up a gruesome Hollywood-esque image of someone gripping a syringe in a gloved fist and thrusting it towards a body with the intention of hitting a target under the skin. In my mind, there is an element of chance as to whether the needle hits the intended anatomical target. It's a stab in the dark. In a more nuanced and stable clinical scenario, the insertion point is carefully considered and the odds of missing may be relatively low. But no matter how low, it seems intuitively sensible to use any imaging guidance available. And increasingly, that guidance is provided by ultrasound. Ultrasound has been established as a helpful addition to inserting intravenous lines, taking biopsies and draining free fluid, to name but a few.
If one assumes that the person inserting a needle has absolutely no knowledge of underlying anatomy and is simply taking a stab whilst hoping it will hit its spot then it is easy to perceive the massive benefit of ultrasound-guided procedures. But that simply isn't true. Medical students spend many hours learning about surface anatomy and how it relates to the underlying layers of tissue, muscle and bone below the skin. Doctors have a great understanding of anatomy and use their hands to palpate for certain underlying structures such as bony processes, tendons and veins, in order to piece together an image in their mind about the underlying anatomy. Anyone who has had blood taken knows that those technicians who do this are adept at feeling the anatomy on the inside of the elbow to find a vein to puncture and drain blood from no matter how deep it is. It is a well-honed skill.
But taking blood is one thing, injecting substances is quite another. Intra-articular injections for the treatment of joint osteoarthritis have been popular for some time and are safely performed using anatomical landmarks only. But increasingly, practitioners are using ultrasound to guide needle placement. In this issue of AJUM, Oo et al.1 have performed a systematic review of ultrasound-guided injections and concluded that clinical outcomes are superior compared with landmark-guided injections. As a potential patient, I can see how this may build confidence in the procedure, but the added benefit of improved clinical outcomes makes ultrasound guidance even more compelling.
All new approaches come with a learning curve however and potentially some questions about who should do these procedures. Those with extensive landmark-guided experience may find the ultrasound hinders the process at first. And conversely, those with ultrasound experience may not have the confidence with landmark-guided procedures. Having two professionals (one an ultrasound expert) working side by side may seem attract
Cervical elongation is considered a risk factor for pelvic organ prolapse treatment failure in uterine preservation surgery. Consensus has not been reached regarding what is considered a normal cervical length, or how to measure it. Our primary aim was to test a new technique for measuring cervical length.
We enrolled women undergoing hysterectomy, with or without pelvic organ prolapse (for all indications except cervical tumours/history of cervical operations). Their cervical lengths were measured both by ultrasound and anatomical measurement. The external length of the cervix was measured using Doppler location of the uterine artery near the cervical-uterine junction as the proximal point and compared to the ultrasound measurement of the cervical canal. The uterine specimen was used to record anatomical cervical measurements as well as uterine corpus length. Baseline characteristics such as age, body mass index and pelvic organ prolapse quantification were also collected.
Twenty women were eligible for evaluation. We found the average anatomical cervical canal length was (ccAN) 33.95 mm (range ± 9.23) and by external measurement (ceAN) 36.80 mm (range ± 7.54). We found a significant, high-powered correlation between our ultrasound and anatomical measurements in both techniques, as well as between the two ultrasound techniques. We also found a negative correlation between cervical length and women's age (rp = −0.443, P = 0.05).
Transvaginal ultrasound measurement of cervical length using the location of the uterine artery was found to have a strong correlation to the anatomical cervical length and can be used for the measurement of normal cervical length.
Ultrasonography as a guide for intravenous (IV) fluid therapy is increasingly accepted within the spheres of acute care. Initial investigations and protocols often focused on measures of arterial flow as an objective approach for personalising organ ‘perfusion.’ More recently, and with literature associating excessive IV fluid with adverse outcomes, venous ultrasound as a measure of organ ‘congestion’ is taking hold. Yet, arterial (i.e., ‘perfusion’) and venous (i.e., ‘congestion’) Doppler ultrasound measures are often performed separately and can be time-consuming, especially for novices.
We report a case, wherein venous and arterial Doppler were simultaneously measured using a wireless, wearable ultrasound as a means to optimise flow without congestion.
Before IV volume expansion, the patient had Doppler measures consistent with low central venous pressure (CVP) and stroke volume (SV). Following IV volume expansion, venous Doppler remained the same; however, carotid corrected flow time (ccFT) increased significantly.
A framework for venous-arterial Doppler enhanced resuscitation (VADER) can be used to guide IV volume in patients at risk for venous congestion.
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