Subscribe via RSS Feed

Tag: POCUS

Necrotizing Fasciitis: Let’s scare you into using POCUS shall we?

December 13, 2014 0 Comments
Necrotizing Fasciitis:  Let’s scare you into using POCUS shall we?

  Warning: Scary article ahead. Point-of-Care Ultrasound Diagnosis of Necrotizing Fasciitis Missed By Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging It’s one of those diagnoses that scares us.  Hard to figure out clinically in many cases at initial presentation.  Adjunctive tests can be false negative.  How can we increase our sensitivity?  Use your POCUS skills of […]

Continue Reading »

Don’t become Jaundiced about POCUS

September 8, 2014 0 Comments
Don’t become Jaundiced about POCUS

This patient came in with jaundice and the LFTs were elevated. They had had a cholecystectomy in the past. POCUS revealed a large dilated fluid-filled structure in the RUQ. After looking at the kidneys/liver +/- Doppler it became clear it was a very dilated CBD. CT confirmed the biliary dilatation and obstructing mass. [Ed. note: […]

Continue Reading »

Gas Gangrene

August 28, 2014 1 Comment
Gas Gangrene

An elderly woman was sent to the ER by her senior’s residence in the middle of the night for bloody stools. The triage nurse found out that there was no blood but there was pus coming from her rectum.  There was a very red and swollen area starting from the anus and extending onto her […]

Continue Reading »

Don’t be subtle: Use POCUS for hard to see fractures

August 24, 2014 0 Comments
Don’t be subtle: Use POCUS for hard to see fractures

A young man had clinically a distal radius fracture. The X-ray looked negative to myself and the radiologist. But with a little bit of fiddling I found the # on U/S. Before I would have said this was a Salter fracture through the epiphysis. POCUS clearly showed the # proximal to the epiphysis. Another fellow […]

Continue Reading »

Pilonidal Abscess: Hair today, gone tomorrow

August 16, 2014 1 Comment
Pilonidal Abscess: Hair today, gone tomorrow

This may seem like overkill; POCUS for an obvious abscess. Still it was interesting to see the ingrown hair inside the abcess. Also the point of maximal induration was not where the actual abcess was, strangely enough. So in the end the POCUS showed not only that the abscess was ready to be drained but where […]

Continue Reading »

Glass FB in Palm

August 12, 2014 0 Comments
Glass FB in Palm

This guy got a glass FB in his hand a couple of weeks earlier. You could sort of imagine a little bump and a little mark. POCUS clearly showed it ~ 1 mm deep. I made an X and (luckily) fished it out. I took a lousy picture with my obsolete Palm Treo showing the […]

Continue Reading »

Purulent tenosynovitis on POCUS

August 8, 2014 0 Comments
Purulent tenosynovitis on POCUS

This is from a fellow with the classic high pressure air/water injected in his hand a few days earlier. You can see the pus next to the tendon.

Continue Reading »

Viral Parotitis

August 3, 2014 0 Comments
Viral Parotitis

A 9 month old child presented to the ED. URTI symptoms, fever and swelling below the left ear. The child looked well with a fullness near the left angle of the jaw. POCUS revealed a swollen parotid with a Swiss-cheese like appearance. I checked the other side for a control but it looked the same. […]

Continue Reading »

POCUS Father’s Day

June 15, 2014 0 Comments
POCUS Father’s Day

Not only am I an enthusiast for POCUS, my pre-teen daughters often get roped into being models for workshops and presentations.  There was even an occasion when my (very young at the time) daughter claimed she didn’t have to use the washroom before going somewhere to play.  I demonstrated to her what a full bladder […]

Continue Reading »

The emotional and visceral pain of a good POCUS call

May 11, 2014 0 Comments
The emotional and visceral pain of a good POCUS call

Dr. Sean Ryan works in a rural hospital with no surgical coverage and in this case there was no access to ultrasound because it was a Saturday morning.   As you know people aren’t supposed to have emergencies in rural communities on weekends requiring ultrasound. A 24 year old woman presents with RLQ pain and Dr. […]

Continue Reading »