Ultrasound in the Intensive Care Unit

Book excerpt: Ultrasound in the Intensive Care Unit explores the current state of evidence supporting use of bedside ultrasound for procedural guidance and for the critical care-focused assessment of a variety of organ systems. This text covers standard practice areas, such as ultrasound guidance for vascular access in the ICU, as well as novel, less well-known applications such as the use of ultrasound for assessment of diaphragm function in patients with respiratory failure. As current ultrasound education is often dependent on widely varying local expertise, this book serves as a standard reference in what is at present a fragmented and challenging field of study for busy clinicians. By providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of critical care ultrasonography, with content contributed by experts in the field, this text will serve as a valuable resource that will allow education in critical care ultrasound to keep pace with the rapid technological growth that has driven this vital area of critical care medicine. Ultrasound in the Intensive Care Unit is essential reading for pulmonologists, practitioners in internal, hospitalist, and critical care medicine; educators and instructors in critical care ultrasound; and medical students, residents, and critical care trainees.