Trauma Ultrasound: Beyond the FAST Examination
摘要
Ultrasound is becoming an increasingly important tool in the evaluation of patients at the bedside. Ultrasound utilization in evaluating traumatized patients is one of the earliest applications described for point-of-care ultrasound. The traditional approach of only focusing on intra-abdominal hemorrhage has been replaced with extended applications that allow a virtually head-to-toe examination of the patient. Clinicians may utilize ultrasound to look for pneumothorax, hemothorax, intracranial injury, and extremity trauma and to guide resuscitative efforts such as fluid and blood product administration. The continued development of ultrasound applications in the broader clinical setting will certainly contribute to broader trauma ultrasound utilization in the future, further increasing its utility.