Gastrointestinal Ultrasound
摘要
Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a useful diagnostic tool for multiple gastrointestinal pathologies. It has the benefit of being performed in real-time and without ionizing radiation. Studies have shown it has excellent diagnostic accuracy in identifying conditions such as hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, appendicitis, small bowel obstruction, and diverticulitis. There is also evidence that it can be used to identify and characterize other pathologies such as esophageal foreign bodies, hernias, malrotation and volvulus, mesenteric adenitis, large bowel obstruction, pneumatosis intestinalis, pneumoperitoneum, mesenteric ischemia, and inflammatory bowel disease. In addition, POCUS can decrease time to diagnosis and length of stay. In this chapter, we will discuss the evidence and techniques for identifying gastrointestinal pathology using POCUS.