Ultrasound-Guided Procedures and Investigations: A Manual for the Clinician PDF

Preface

In the last few years, ultrasonography has become increasingly recognized as a helpful tool for the evaluation and management of patients in the intensive care unit, emergency department, and the operating room, as well as general hospital wards and outpatient clinics. Ultrasound guidance in thoracentesis and central venous catheterization is becoming the standard of care, and use of ultrasonography has significantly expedited the initial evaluation of the trauma patient. With the development of affordable and portable devices, ultrasound examinations are increasingly performed by nonradiologists.

This book is intended to serve as a resource for internists, pulmonologists, critical care physicians, surgeons, emergence medicine physicians, and anesthesiologists, as well as physicians in training. The chapters have been organized to provide a background in physics and imaging technology, review the literature pertinent to the most commonly performed procedures and nonprocedural applications of ultrasonography, and provide guidance on how to perform those examinations and procedures.

It is our hope that this book will inspire nonradiologists to become familiar with ultrasound and begin to use it as a tool in daily clinical practice in order to enhance patient care.