Rationale of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Anesthesia

Point-of-Care Ultrasound is the use of ultrasound at patient’s bedside, in real time, to help in the diagnosis, guide therapeutic interventions, monitoring of organ functions and their treatment. The acquisition of Point-of-Care Ultrasound images by anesthesiologists involves the evaluation of multiple organs in different perioperative situations. It can be used to improve clinical decision-making in a variety of perioperative cares, due to its ability to assess endotracheal tube placement, cardiac and lung functions, risk of aspiration, hemodynamics, vascular access, and visualization of nerves for regional procedures. The importance of clinical ultrasound in perioperative settings, its increasing affordability, and associated low risks have been used in many anesthesiology residency programs to increase the focus on perioperative ultrasound training. The purpose of this paper is to present current anesthesiologists and anesthesiologists in training with brief information on the utility and importance of Point-of-Care Ultrasound in perioperative settings