ReviewTrauma Ultrasound
Section snippets
Hemopericardium
Blood in pericardial spaces in a trauma patient signifies presence of cardiac, pericardial or aortic root injuries, which can be in the form of contusions, lacerations or vascular trauma. Hemopericardium appears as an anechoic or hypo-echoic band within the pericardial space (Fig. 7). On the subxyphoid pericardial view, anterior pericardial fluid is seen between the left lobe of the liver and the right ventricle. Hemopericardium may cover the cardiac apex and locates within the posterior
Pitfalls and Limitations of Trauma Ultrasound
Although ultrasound has many advantages, such as non-invasiveness, portability, wide availability, repeatability and lack of ionizing radiation, several limiting factors need to be considered when performing trauma ultrasound. Technical limitations are those related to machine, scanning techniques and environment, nature of ultrasound and ultrasound operators. Non-technical factors are related to diseases/conditions and patients.
Image quality and scanning technique affect the accuracy of FAST.
Conclusions
Ultrasound plays a significant role in the rapid detection of life-threatening conditions such as hemopericardium, hemoperitoneum, hemothorax and pneumothorax and is routinely used in the initial phase of ATLS. A secondary survey with ultrasound, especially in patients with a negative initial scan, may reveal findings of specific torso injuries that could potentially expedite the next imaging test (such as contrast-enhanced CT scan) and guide appropriate protocol selection. Evaluation of the
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