Emergency medicine physicians saving time with ultrasound.

In an attempt to provide comprehensive and timely patient care, emergency physicians have begun to use ultrasonography to perform and interpret goal-oriented examinations. Reducing time to diagnosis can potentially have a major impact on the treatment of patients with ruptured ectopic pregnancy, leaking aortic aneurysm, and cardiac tamponade, who require time-sensitive surgical intervention. A review of three cases reveals how ultrasonography performed by emergency physicians can rapidly provide valuable diagnostic information and expedite patient care in three different clinical scenarios.