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Recent Posts
Rapid Fire Ultrasound: Introduction to the Mindray TE X
In the first video of our TE X instructional series, Zac Fica, MD, MS, walks us through the basic features and functionality of our new Mindray machine.
Case 33: Parotid Mass
A 73-year-old male with a past medical history including atrial fibrillation and hypertension presented to the ED for admission for planned resection of a parotid mass with ENT. He first noted pain to his right cheek several months prior. Over this period, a mass was noted. The mass continued to grow over time, raising...
Case 32: Perforated Gallbladder
A 77-year old man presented to the emergency department with a complaint of appetite loss over the past 15 days. He reported ongoing symptoms for the past 5 months. However, over the previous 15 days, his appetite had been so poor that he only drank 1-2 nutrition drinks per day. He reported a 10-15 lbs weight lo...
Case 31: A Man with Shortness of Breath
A 77-year-old patient presented to a rural Emergency Department with a chief complaint of shortness of breath a day prior to presentation. Patient also reported that he fell several weeks ago and hurt his ribs. He was subsequently admitted to the hospital and was ultimately treated for pyelonephritis. He endorsed being...
Case 30: Ultrasound-Guided Extraction of a Foreign Body
A 53-year-old homeless alcoholic female presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of localized left lower quadrant abdominal pain secondary to a possible gunshot wound. She was unclear but stated she thinks some boys in a gang fired at her two days prior with a possible BB gun. Pertinent medical...
Case 29: Perforated Diverticulitis
A 37-year-old female presented to the emergency room with severe, radiating bilateral flank pain lasting one week. Pain was constant and pressure-like. Patient had a past medical history significant for constipation, ovarian cysts, diverticulitis, and a colonic polypectomy. She denied fever, vomiting, and denied melena...
Case 28: Nah-bscess
A 35 year old male with a history of IV drug use and HIV on ART presents to the emergency department with pain and redness of his left upper extremity for a few days. He denies systemic symptoms or prior history of abscess.
Vitals: Temp 98.5, HR 93, BP 122/75, RR20
Physical Exam: Notable for a large, well circums...
Does adding M-mode to B-mode improve accuracy in diagnosing pneumothorax?
Background
Ultrasound has been shown to be superior to supine chest x-ray in the diagnosis of pneumothorax, with one recent systematic review demonstrating 91% sensitivity using ultrasound compared to 50% using chest x-ray.1 CT scan remains the gold standard in diagnosis but is often not feasible in unstable trauma pat...