Intensive care medicine
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Intensive care medicine · Jul 2016
ReviewUltrasonography evaluation during the weaning process: the heart, the diaphragm, the pleura and the lung.
On a regular basis, the intensivist encounters the patient who is difficult to wean from mechanical ventilatory support. The causes for failure to wean from mechanical ventilatory support are often multifactorial and involve a complex interplay between cardiac and pulmonary dysfunction. A potential application of point of care ultrasonography relates to its utility in the process of weaning the patient from mechanical ventilatory support. ⋯ Ultrasonography may have useful application during the weaning process from mechanical ventilatory support.