Fundamentals of Critical Care Ultrasound
Ultrasound imaging enhances the practitioner’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat critical care patients. Ultrasound-guided intervention is becoming an increasingly popular and valuable tool and the fast-paced intensive care unit (ICU) is an ideal environment to use this technology. Additional benefits of focused bedside ultrasound include its portability, accuracy, realtime visualization, and efficacy in various procedures in the ICU setting.
Advances in real-time ultrasound technology have greatly improved imaging capabilities, leading to ever-expanding applications: guidance during vascular and non-vascular procedures; diagnosis of emergent conditions such as cardiac abnormalities, pericardial tamponade, deep venous thrombosis, and shock; and evaluation of hemodynamics and traumatic injuries.
Because ultrasound is such a vital tool for critical care providers, the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) has developed a two-day comprehensive course dedicated to the latest information available. Fundamentals of Critical Care Ultrasound will be held August 19 and 20, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This course will offer didactic presentations and hands-on skill stations for performing and interpreting ultrasound imaging.
To see how you can benefit from SCCM's high-quality programming and effective study materials, take a look at the 2010 On-Site Brochure.
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:
- Describe the basic operator controls required for image acquisition on the ultrasound system
- Examine the relationship between transducer position and image orientation
- Discuss the indications and limitations of goal-directed echocardiography in the ICU
- Identify the standard echocardiographic views of the heart in normal and pathologic conditions
- Identify some of the common reasons for shock in the ICU, including hypovolemia, right ventricular failure, pulmonary embolism, pericardial tamponade, left ventricular failure and distributive shock, by their echocardiographic appearance
- List the correct standard ultrasound views best suited to each diagnosis and the limitations of each view
- Review the utility of ultrasound-guided intervention in specific procedures such as: central line and PICC placement, thoracentesis, paracentesis, and FAST exam
- Discuss the value of static and dynamic ultrasound guidance for ICU procedures in enhancing patient safety and decreasing the rate of complications
- Identify pleural and pericardial effusions, recognize ascites and develop an understanding of the anatomy of neck, chest, abdomen and retroperitoneal space
- Discuss necessary equipment techniques, including maintenance of sterility
Chair:
Achikam Oren-Grinberg, MD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, USA