title: Bedside echocardiography in critically ill patients.
abstract: The echocardiography has become a vital tool in the diagnosis of critically ill patients. The use of echocardiography by intensivists has been increasing since the 1990's. This tool has become a common procedure for the cardiovascular assessment of critically ill patients, especially because it is non-invasive and can be applied in fast and guided manner at the bedside. Physicians with basic training in echocardiography, both from intensive care unit or emergency department, can assess the left ventricle function properly with good accuracy compared with assessment made by cardiologists. The change of treatment approach based on echocardiographic findings is commonly seen after examination of unstable patient. This brief review focuses on growing importance of echocardiography as an useful tool for management of critically ill patients in the intensive care setting along with the cardiac output assessment using this resource.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Casaroto
authors.affiliation: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mohovic
authors.affiliation: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Lilian Moreira
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tais Rodrigues de
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Lara
mesh_terms: D002302:Cardiac Output; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left