Journal of ultrasonography
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Case Reports
Dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction: underestimated cause of hypotension and hemodynamic instability.
Left ventricular outflow tract obstruction, which is typically associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, is the third most frequent cause of unexplained hypotension. This underestimated problem may temporarily accompany various diseases (it is found in even <1% of patients with no tangible cardiac disease) and clinical situations (hypovolemia, general anesthesia). ⋯ Echocardiography is the basic modality in the diagnosis and treatment of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction. This paper presents four patients in whom the immediate implementation of bedside echocardiography enabled a rapid diagnosis of left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and implementation of proper treatment.
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Lung sonography allows rapid diagnosis of lung emergencies such as pulmonary edema, hemothorax or pneumothorax. The ability to timely diagnose an intraoperative pneumothorax is an important skill for the anesthesiologist. However, lung ultrasound exams require an interpretation of not only real images but also complex acoustic artifacts such as A-lines and B-lines. ⋯ This model consists of the experimenter's hand placed on top of the water-filled container with a wet foam. Metacarpal bones of the human hand simulate a rib cage and a wet foam simulates a diseased lung immersed in the pleural fluid. Positive fluid flow offers users feedback when a simulated pleural effusion is accurately assessed.
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The paper presents the use of ultrasound assessment of gastric content in anesthesiological practice. Factors influencing pulmonary aspiration of gastric content and the risk of a complication in the form of aspiration pneumonia are discussed. The examination was performed on two patients hospitalized in a state of emergency who required surgical intervention. ⋯ Interviews with the patients and their medical documentation indicated that they had been fasting for the recommended six hours before the surgery. However, during a gastric ultrasound examination it was found that food was still present in the stomach, which caused a change in the anesthesiological procedure chosen. The authors present a method of performing gastric ultrasound examination, determining the nature of the food content present and estimating its volume.