Items tagged “pocus”

Ectopia lentis refers to subluxation or dislocation of the lens of the eye secondary to dysfunction or disruption of zonular fibers. It is most commonly due to trauma. The commonest atraumatic etiologies are Marfan syndrome and homocystinuria. Pathology Etiology trauma systemic and syndromic...

Scaphoid fractures (i.e. fractures through the scaphoid bone) are common, in some instances can be difficult to diagnose, and can result in significant functional impairment. Epidemiology Scaphoid fractures account for 70-80% of all carpal bone fractures 1. Although they occur essentially at a...

Cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage is a major complication of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). It is overtaking rebleed as the major cause of mortality and morbidity in the subgroup of patients with SAH who reach the hospital and receive medical care. It usually occurs after a fe...

The stellate ganglion block describes blockade of the cervicothoracic sympathetic chain which provides post-ganglionic sympathetic efferents to the head, neck and upper extremities. Neural blockade is typically acheived by deposition of local anesthetic between the prevertebral fascia and longus...

Speckle tracking echocardiography describes the semi-automated analysis of grey scale (B-mode) echocardiographic studies in which the spatial translocation of derived functional units (speckles) allows quantitative analysis of myocardial function. Speckle tracking constitutes a subset of deform...

Tuberculous peritonitis is a form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis affecting the peritoneum. It is frequently seen in association with other forms of gastrointestinal tuberculosis 6. Epidemiology Tuberculosis is usually confined to the respiratory system but may involve any organ system 1. Extra...

Congestive hepatopathy includes a spectrum of hepatic derangements that can occur in the setting of right-sided heart failure (and its underlying causes). If there is subsequent hepatic fibrosis the term cardiac cirrhosis may be used. The condition can rarely occur as a result of non-cardiac cau...

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) (a.k.a. apical ballooning syndrome) is a condition characterized by transient regional abnormal cardiac wall motion, not confined to a single coronary arterial territory. It has been described predominantly in postmenopausal women, often following exposure to sudden...

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) rupture is a feared complication of abdominal aortic aneurysm and is a surgical emergency. It is part of the acute aortic syndrome spectrum. Epidemiology Abdominal aortic aneurysms are common and affect ~7.5% of patients aged over 65 years 6. Clinical presentat...

Rib fractures are a common consequence of trauma and can cause life-threatening complications. Epidemiology Associations Rib fractures are often associated with other injuries and the greater the number of rib fractures the more likely are associated injuries 1,3: brachial plexus or subclavi...

Right heart strain (or more precisely right ventricular strain) is a term given to denote the presence of right ventricular dysfunction usually in the absence of an underlying cardiomyopathy. It can manifest as an acute right heart syndrome. Pathology Right heart strain can often occur as a re...

Ultrasound of the knee allows high-resolution imaging of superficial knee anatomy while simultaneously allowing dynamic evaluation of some of the tendons and ligaments. Knee ultrasound is somewhat limited compared with ultrasound examinations of other joints because the cruciate ligaments and th...

Cardiovascular (cardiac) shunts are abnormal connections between the pulmonary and systemic circulations. Most commonly they are the result of congenital heart disease. Pathology Blood can either be shunted from the systemic circulation to pulmonary circulation (i.e. 'left-to-right shunt') or ...

Asteroid hyalosis is a degenerative condition of the eye where there is an accumulation of calcium soaps in the vitreous chamber. Epidemiology The prevalence increases with age from 0.2% in 43-54-year-olds to 2.9% in 75-86-year-olds. The overall prevalence is 1.2%. It is more commonly unilater...

Choroidal detachment is a detachment of the choroid from the underlying sclera due to the accumulation of fluid in the suprachoroidal space generally due to increased intraocular pressure (IOP), as observed in some settings: choroidal effusion transudative: trauma exudative: fluid accumulatin...

An abdominal paracentesis (plural: paracenteses), more commonly referred to as an ascitic tap, is a procedure that can be performed to collect peritoneal fluid for analysis or as a therapeutic intervention. Indications diagnostic: especially for newly-diagnosed ascites determine etiology of a...

The rapid ultrasound in shock (RUSH) protocol is a structured point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) examination performed at the time of presentation of a shocked patient. It is a more detailed and longer exam than the FAST scan, with the aim to differentiate between hypovolemic, cardiogenic, obstruc...

This mnemonic will help with the sonographic approach to the critically ill patient with dyspnea: CHEST Mnemonic C: collapsed lung (pneumothorax)  absence of anterior lung sliding, lung pulse, B-lines, or z-lines these artifacts arise from the pleural interface; their presence would rule ou...

Peripheral intravenous cannulation under ultrasound guidance is the placement of a cannula into a peripherally-located vein under the direct vision of ultrasound. This process allows the cannulation of veins that are unable to be visualized or palpated without ultrasound. In trained individuals ...

Vitreous hemorrhage refers to bleeding into the vitreous humor. Epidemiology Vitreous hemorrhage has an incidence of approximately 7 in 100000 1,2.   Clinical presentation The most common clinical presentation is with sudden, painless visual loss to varying degrees of severity 2. Associated ...