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Review
. 2023 Jun 20;59(6):1180.
doi: 10.3390/medicina59061180.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Multimodal Tool for the Management of Sepsis in the Emergency Department

Effie Polyzogopoulou  1 , Maria Velliou  1 , Christos Verras  1   2 , Ioannis Ventoulis  3 , John Parissis  1 , Joseph Osterwalder  4 , Beatrice Hoffmann  5
Affiliations
Review

Point-of-Care Ultrasound: A Multimodal Tool for the Management of Sepsis in the Emergency Department

Effie Polyzogopoulou et al. Medicina (Kaunas). .

Abstract

Sepsis and septic shock are life-threatening emergencies associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Hence, early diagnosis and management of both conditions is of paramount importance. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a cost-effective and safe imaging modality performed at the bedside, which has rapidly emerged as an excellent multimodal tool and has been gradually incorporated as an adjunct to physical examination in order to facilitate evaluation, diagnosis and management. In sepsis, POCUS can assist in the evaluation of undifferentiated sepsis, while, in cases of shock, it can contribute to the differential diagnosis of other types of shock, thus facilitating the decision-making process. Other potential benefits of POCUS include prompt identification and control of the source of infection, as well as close haemodynamic and treatment monitoring. The aim of this review is to determine and highlight the role of POCUS in the evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of the septic patient. Future research should focus on developing and implementing a well-defined algorithmic approach for the POCUS-guided management of sepsis in the emergency department setting given its unequivocal utility as a multimodal tool for the overall evaluation and management of the septic patient.

Keywords: POCUS; emergency department; point-of-care; sepsis; ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

E.P has received honorarium from GE for presentation. M.V., C.V., I.V., J.P., J.O. and B.H. declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
POCUS bundles in sepsis. Abbreviations: FoCUS: focused cardiac ultrasound; IV: intravenous; MSK: musculoskeletal; POCUS: point-of-care ultrasound; US: ultrasound; UTI: urinary tract infection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
POCUS roadmap of the septic patient in the ED. Abbreviations: ED: emergency department, POCUS: point-of-care ultrasound.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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