Transcranial sonography in the critical patient

Abstract

Transcranial ultrasonography is a non-invasive, bedside technique that has become a widely implemented tool in the evaluation and management of neurocritically ill patients. It constitutes a technique in continuous growth whose fundamentals (and limitations) must be known by the intensivist. This review provides a practical approach for the intensivist, including the different sonographic windows and planes of insonation and its role in different conditions of the neurocritical patients and in critical care patients of other etiologies.

Keywords: Color-coded transcranial duplex; Doppler transcraneal; Dúplex transcraneal codificado en color; Neuromonitoring; Neuromonitorización; Transcranial Doppler; Transcranial ultrasonography; Ultrasonografía transcraneal.