CONSIDER THE PROBE: CXR? WHY BOTHER...POCUS THAT PNA!
(Courtesy Dr. Larissa Unruh)
Now the following topic is extremely close to my heart. Lung US is well studied in both adult and pediatric patients and has excellent test characteristics for the diagnosis of Pneumonia (AND Bronchiolitis!!!).
Dr. Unruh takes us through the following case of a man who clinically had PNA and was actually HYPOXIC, requiring O2. He had a single CXR that was read by the attending radiologist as negative...leaving us with a patient with a new oxygen requirement with a normal CXR.
Thank goodness Dr. Unruh CONSIDERED THE PROBE! She takes us through the following (REAL LIFE) case and some of the basic sonographic findings for PNA. Make sure that you never catch yourself signing a patient out "we ruled out pneumonia with a CXR" (!ESPECIALLY A SINGLE VIEW!). US is more much more sensitive than any single view CXR for detecting a consolidation. Though like all things US, the more places you look, the more sensitive your exam will be...
Enjoy a great case by Dr. Unruh and ALWAYS CONSIDER THE PROBE when evaluating a hypoxemic/dyspneic patient...