Over the past two decades it has been increasingly recognized that whole-body ultrasound is an invaluable tool in the critically ill. In addition to offering rapid whole-body assessment, it has the advantage of being a bedside approach that is available at all times and can be repeated at will. Accordingly, it permits the immediate institution of appropriate therapeutic management. Whole-Body Ultrasound in the Critically Ill is the sequel to the author s previous books on the subject, which were first published in French in 1992 and 2002 and in English in 2004. This new volume reflects the latest state of knowledge by including a variety of improvements, revised definitions, and updated algorithms. Findings in respect of individual organs are clearly presented, and a particular feature is the in-depth coverage of the lungs, traditionally regarded as an area unsuitable for ultrasound. Throughout, the emphasis is on the practical therapeutic impact of the technique. Its value in a variety of settings, including unexplained shock, management of hemodynamic instability, acute respiratory failure (the BLUE protocol), and the critically ill neonate, is carefully explained. Interventional ultrasound and less widely recognized applications, such as mesenteric infarction, pneumoperitoneum, and intracranial hypertension, are also described. Pitfalls of the technique receive due attention. Today, whole-body ultrasound touches upon every area of critical care. This book, from the chief pioneer in the field, shows that the technique enables critical care physicians to detect therapeutically relevant signs easily and quickly. It will serve as an invaluable guide to the practice of a form of visual medicine."

General ultrasound in the critically ill describes a new clinical tool: ultrasound for the intensive care and emergency physician. Written by an intensivist familiar with ultrasound, it specifically details findings of immediate clinical relevance throughout its approx. 220 pages. Through a whole-body approach, this book considers new emergency applications regarding the abdomen, venous system, head, heart, and the most original topic, the lung. Flow charts are proposed to resolve daily intensive care and emergency occurrences: acute dyspnea, shock, unexplained fever, etc. The strong points and pitfalls of ultrasound are reviewed in detail. This book shows just how critical ultrasound has proven to be in satisfying a major concern in the intensive care and emergency medicine fields: speed and accuracy. With this ever-present requirement for rapid diagnosis in mind, General ultrasound in the critically ill provides a key to practicing a visual medicine, a great benefit to the critically ill patient, especially since ultrasound is noninvasive and can be done at the bedside. This volume is not only an exhaustive atlas dealing with the most variable aspects of the critically ill patient, but it is above all a guide, a permanent aid in the therapeutic decision.

Written by a pioneer in critical care ultrasound, this book discusses the basic technique and "signatures" of lung ultrasound and explains its main clinical applications. The tools and clinical uses of the BLUE protocol, which allows diagnosis of most cases of acute respiratory failure, are first described in detail. Careful attention is then devoted to protocols derived from the BLUE protocol - the FALLS protocol for diagnosis and management of acute circulatory failure, the Pink protocol for use in ARDS, and the SESAME protocol for use in cardiac arrest - and to the LUCI-FLR program, a means of answering clinical questions while reducing radiation exposure. Finally, the book discusses all the possible settings in which lung ultrasound can be used, discipline by discipline and condition by condition. Lung Ultrasound in the Critically Ill comprehensively explains how ultrasound can become the stethoscope of modern medicine. It is a superb complement to the author's previous book, Whole Body Ultrasonography in the Critically Ill.