Roehrig S et al. Respiratorisches Versagen (...) - Lungensonographie für Alle.....

Respiratorisches Versagen in der Akut- und Intensivmedizin –
Was kann die Lungensonographie leisten?
Respiratory failure in acute and critical care medicine –
What is the value of lung ultrasound?
Übersichtsarbeit
Review Article
Summary
In the context of differential diagnoses of dyspnoe and complications of mechanical
ventilation, anaesthesiologists, intensivists or emergency physicians need to differentiate
between pulmonary edema, pneumonia, pneumothorax and pleural effusion at the
earliest. Lung ultrasound offers to verify a diagnosis at the patient’s bedside within minutes
and can induce the appropriate therapy. Radiation exposure of the patient and the
environment caused by X-rays can be minimized and high-risk transportation of critical
care patients, for example for a CT-scan, can be reduced. Knowledge of few specific sonographic
phenomena only are necessary for the diagnosis and can be learned very
quick ly so that the ultrasonic probe may be used in emergency and intensive care medicine
as the ordinary stethoscope. Important clinically relevant questions can be answered
promptly at the patient’s bedside.
Keywords
Lung, Pneumothorax, Pleural Effusion, Pneumonia, Pulmonary Edema,
Ultrasonography
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