POCUS — point-of-care ultrasound
Ultrasound brought to the patient, at the moment of the clinical decision — not the patient brought to the exam. A workflow shift that reshaped practice in urgent care, emergency medicine, and critical care.
Categories
Urgent and emergency protocols
Standardized sequences that guide rapid workup in high-pressure scenarios.
FAST
Focused Assessment with Sonography for Trauma — targeted search for free fluid in body cavities in trauma patients.
eFAST
An extension of FAST with pleural and lung assessment, broadening the workup to pneumothorax and pleural effusion.
Lung protocol
A systematic sequence of thoracic windows to characterize A-lines, B-lines, and consolidations.
Pneumothorax assessment
Assessment of lung sliding, lung point, and associated signs in the emergency setting.
Pleural effusion
Bedside quantification and characterization, guiding thoracentesis when indicated.
Pulmonary edema
Recognizing the diffuse B-line pattern as a decision-support tool in acute dyspnea.
Shock
Focused hemodynamic assessment algorithms — IVC, global cardiac function, and cause-finding.
Focused cardiac assessment
Basic windows for global function, pericardial effusion, and signs of right-heart strain.
Cardiac arrest
The role of ultrasound in investigating reversible causes during resuscitation, without interrupting compressions.
Guided vascular access
Real-time guided puncture for difficult central and peripheral venous access.
Focused abdominal assessment
Search for free fluid and abdominal warning signs in the acute patient.
Trauma assessment
Integration of the protocols above into a decision flow for the polytrauma patient.
Technical content intended for health professionals in training or practice. POCUS protocols require supervised training before independent application in clinical practice.
