Ultrasound: Review on Its Role in Evaluation of Critically Ill Patient Download PDF

Accurate and rapid diagnosis and management are essential for patients in the intensive care unit. Several diagnostic imaging methods were developed. However, most of them lacked portability, sensitivity, and availability. Adding a short echocardiographic study to support the physical examination improves the diagnosis accuracy. Ultrasound had grown rapidly and had been accepted widely. A recent study shows that up to 36 percent of patients in the non-cardiac intensive care unit were found to have one or more occult defects in the heart. ICU patients with abdominal and thoracic pathologies are usually required to undergo ultrasound for prompt diagnosis and management and to prevent deterioration or death of the patient's disease. This review article discusses the role of ultrasound in the intensive care unit for diagnosing and managing critical patients. The Medline, Pubmed, Embase, NCBI, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies of patients who developed diverticular disease symptoms. The incidence, etiology, and management options were analyzed. The use of ultrasonography in ICU allows the acting clinicians to make real-time decisions in diagnoses and management. This article provides the reader with a broad overview of this important topic.