Abstract
Medical transport teams often handle cases of complex, critically ill patients and
are in need of rapid, bedside assessments to guide clinical decision making. The use
of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) as a diagnostic indicator has gained increased
acceptance in emergency medicine. Ultrasound devices have become increasingly portable,
and numerous studies have demonstrated that use in the prehospital setting is feasible,
accurate, and can have a dramatic impact on the care of patients. In this case report,
we highlight the use of handheld ultrasound in the identification of right heart dilation
in an unstable patient with respiratory failure in a rural emergency department, concerning
for massive pulmonary embolism. The patient was given thrombolytic therapy with dramatic
clinical improvement, ultimately surviving transport to the intensive care unit at
a nearby tertiary care center.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 30, 2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Air Medical Journal Associates. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
