Ultrasonography in Trauma: Physics, Practice, and Training.

Abstract

* Ultrasonography has gained a unique role in assisting emergency medicine physicians in the trauma setting. Its major advantages include safety, bedside availability, repeatability, and portability. In addition, it does not have to interrupt resuscitation, it does not require sedation, it takes images in real time using multiplanar and nonstandard imaging, and it provides interventional guidance.* Advances in technology have enabled portable ultrasonography devices to offer excellent imaging quality and a quick-start function. In trauma, it can be used in the pre-hospital setting, in disaster situations, during patient retrieval, and in the hospital setting from the emergency department to the operating room, intensive care units, and the wards. It can be used by pre-hospital medical staff, emergency physicians, trauma surgeons, anesthesiologists, radiologists, and sonographers after adequate training.* The limitations of ultrasonography in trauma include the skill of the operators, the need for training and experience, and image artifacts and display.