title: Intensive care bedside echocardiography: true or a distant dream?
abstract: During the last few years, technological development and acquired experience advanced and the echocardiogram has become an important and useful tool in intensive care unit environment. Data obtained from semi quantitative Doppler echocardiography (transthoracic and transesophageal) evaluation has contributed to an appropriate patient monitoring and management. Echocardiography as a diagnostic, prognostic and monitoring method for fluid responsiveness assessment has become available nowadays since hand-carried ultrasound devices are portable and cheaper. Adequate training and development of appropriateness criteria for use of echocardiography in intensive care unit may lead to a standard use as a bedside tool.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Instituto Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Uri Adrian Prync
authors.initials: UA
authors.lastname: Flato
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Hospital Universitário, Universidade de Marília, Marília, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: André Luis de
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Hospital Universitário, Universidade de Marília, Marília, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Matheus Ribas
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Trindade
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Clinica Médica, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Hélio Penna
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Guimarães
authors.affiliation: Instituto do Coração, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Marcelo Luiz Campos
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Terapia Intensiva, Hospital Leforte, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Brunori