Point of care ultrasound for rapid assessment and treatment of palliative care patients in acute medical settings.

Point of care ultrasound for rapid assessment and treatment of palliative care patients in acute medical settings. Eur J Intern Med. 2020 Aug 14;: Authors: Breakey N, Osterwalder J, Mathis G, Lehmann B, Sauter TC Abstract The combination of an ageing population with improving survival in malignant and non-malignant disease processes results in a growing cohort of patients with advanced or end-stage chronic diseases who require acute medical care. Emergency care has historically been stereotyped as the identification and treatment of acute life-threatening problems. Although palliative care may be considered to be new to the formal curriculum of emergency medicine, in many domains the ultrasound skillset of a physician in acute medical care can be efficaciously deployed the benefit of patients with both malignant and non-malignant disease processes that require palliative care in the full breadth of acute healthcare settings. In diagnostic domains (abdominal pain, urinary tract obstruction, dyspnoea, venous thromboembolism and musculoskeletal pain) and for specific intervention guidance (thoracentesis, paracentesis, venous access, regional anaesthesia and musculoskeletal interventions) we suggest that POCUS has the potential to streamline improve patient satisfaction, streamline diagnostic strategies, optimise patient length of stay, expedite timely symptomatic relief and reduce complications in this important patient population. POCU...
Source: European Journal of Internal Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Eur J Intern Med Source Type: research