Bedside echocardiography in the assessment of the critically ill.

Advances in ultrasound technology continue to enhance its diagnostic applications in daily medical practice. Bedside echocardiographic examination has become useful to properly trained cardiologists, anesthesiologists, intensivists, surgeons, and emergency room physicians. Cardiac ultrasound can permit rapid, accurate, and noninvasive diagnosis of a broad range of acute cardiovascular pathologies. Although transesophageal echocardiography was once the principal diagnostic approach using ultrasound to evaluate intensive care unit patients, advances in ultrasound imaging, including harmonic imaging, digital acquisition, and contrast for endocardial enhancement, has improved the diagnostic yield of transthoracic echocardiography. Ultrasound devices continue to become more portable, and hand-carried devices are now readily available for bedside applications. This article discusses the application of bedside echocardiography in the intensive care unit. The emphasis is on echocardiography and cardiovascular diagnostics, specifically on goal-directed bedside cardiac ultrasonography.