Thrombus

Patency

Mid Thigh

Common Femoral Vein

Subtitles

- So, it's actually quite easy to do
an ultrasound examination in the E.D.
to determine if a patient has deep vein thrombosis,
and this is a well established practice of ultrasound.
We're gonna do a modified version of that
for the E.D. exam though.
To set up for this examination you want to tilt
the gurney, so that you're in a reverse trandelenburg.
So this encourages venous extension in the leg,
so it's easier to visualize the veins with ultrasound.
We're going to use a linear transducer for this examination,
and the views that we do for this exam
will just be in a transverse orientation only.
So when you're setting up for this examination
make sure the orientation marker again is to the right.
For this examination technique we're gonna use
a compression technique where we just
slightly compress the vein with some downward motion.
When you set up the exam on the system,
just select the exam key,
then from your menu select the venous exam type,
and hit select.
When you do this you're optimizing the system,
so it's automatically configured
for your best resolution of the veins.
We're gonna use a little bit of ultrasound gel,
and we're gonna assess two areas.
The femoral area and the popliteal area.
I'm gonna start with the femoral area.
We're going to place the ultrasound transducer
at the inguinal crease...
in a transverse view.
When I do this, immediately below the transducer and the
ultrasound image I'm going to see two anechoic structures.
The one that's gonna be more
medial is the common femoral vein.
The one that's more lateral is the common femoral artery.
The way I can landmark this is by looking for
the junction with the saphenous vein,
or the long saphenous vein.
And we see this emptying into the
anterior aspect of the common femoral vein.
And in this image we actually see the
venous valves separating
the long saphenous and common femoral veins.
So at this point what I do, is I just
use my compression technique.
So I just push with the transducer down until I see
both walls of the vein coapt or touch and meet each other.
If I get a complete coapt like this
I know there's nothing between those two walls,
so there's no venous thrombosis in the vein.
So again, just compress down until
you see those two walls meet completely.
You'll see that the artery does not compress,
and is pulsatile beside the vein.
Now that you've identified your landmarks,
you wanna do a thorough evaluation of that area.
So again placing the transducer at the inguinal crease,
we're going to compress the area of the common femoral vein.
We wanna move a few centimeters proximal to this,
so superiorly on the body,
and we'll start a compression technique.
Making sure that those walls collapse completely,
and we just work through this area
compressing every centimeter.
We see our common femoral vein and saphen junction here,
and we can continue compressing
just a few centimeters below this.
On the ultrasound we've seen the division to
superficial femoral artery and profunda artery.
Just lateral to the vein,
and then we should see the vein divide to
femoral vein and profunda vein.
Again, compressing all the way down,
until you see this junction.
From here I'm going to move down to the popliteal region.
Just move the system down towards the knee,
and we're going to actually go behind the knee.
Putting the transducer into the popliteal fossa.
Once you've identified the popliteal artery and vein,
mid-popliteal fossa level,
you wanna evaluate above and below this area
to make sure you evaluate all those areas
for deep vein thrombosis.
So we're going to start mid-level,
and just work our way superiorly in the leg.
To the superior aspect of the popliteal fossa.
Compressing all the way.
We go up a few centimeters,
and then we start to move down the leg
compressing into the inferior aspect of the popliteal fossa.
Again making sure that those vein walls
actually touch and meet each other,
so we know that there's no deep vein thrombosis
that's fresh which would be h-ai-p-oe-c-u-g.
Could be difficult to see if we did not
do this compression technique.
Those are the two steps for assessing the leg
for deep vein thrombosis.
It's just these two evaluation points.
But just make sure that you evaluate each area thoroughly,
and you do your compression technique completely.

Brightcove ID

5508114175001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=FHerMNhCR54

Case: Aorta Ultrasound - Introduction

Read more about Case: Aorta Ultrasound - Introduction

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This video details how bedside ultrasound imaging can be used, as well as proper probe placement and how to interpret the ultrasound images seen during abdominal ultrasound examinations.

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Subtitles

- Hello, my name is Phillips Perera
and I'm the Emergency Ultrasound Coordinator
at the New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
Welcome to SoundBytes Cases.
In this SoundBytes Module entitled Part 1
of Beside Ultrasound of the Aorta,
we're going to specifically look
at the Beside Detection of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms.
Now this application of Point of Care Beside Sonography
is one of the most crucial ones for the Emergency Physician
as Detection of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm can be
life saving for your patient at the bedside.
Using Point of Care Sonography to make a rapid
diagnosis of a rupturing Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
in a patient who has unstable vital signs can facilitate
timely transfer of the patient to the operating theater
without undue delay in the Emergency Department
such as waiting for a CAT Scan.
Because there's a lot of material to cover
on the topic of Bedside Ultrasound of the Aorta,
I've divided this module into Aorta Ultrasound
Parts one and two.
In this module entitled Aorta Ultrasound Part 1
we're gonna begin by reviewing the anatomy of the Aorta,
we'll then move on to learn how to perform the Ultrasound
examination of the Abdominal Aorta, all the way from the top
at the subxiphoid process as the Aorta
exits the thoracic cavity to bifurcation
at the level of the Umbilicus.
We'll then also move on to learn how to understand
the interpretation of the Ultrasound images
that you will obtain using Beside Sonography.
Let's review the position of the probe
for Sonography of the Aorta.
Generally we'll begin by placing the probe in
a short axis configuration.
Begin by placing the probe in probe position one
in the Epigastric region to visual the Aorta
as it enters the Abdominal Cavity and exits
through the Thoracic Cavity via the diaphragm.
The probe should be configured with a marker dot
over towards the patients right side.
Press down to firmly displace bowel gas
and get a glimpse of that Aorta.
Now, we should visualize the spine as our landmark
and on top of the spine we'll visualize the Aorta.
Then we should slide the probe inferiorly to probe position
two here as show in the Super Umbilical region.
This will allow us to visualize the entire part
of the Abdominal Aorta all the way down
to Bifurcation.
We should complete the examination of the Aorta
by looking at the Aorta in a long-axis plane.
We'll begin by placing the probe in probe position one
again in the Epigastric region to visualize the top part
of the Abdominal Aorta.
Have the marker dot superiorily oriented towards the
patient's head.
We can then slide the probe inferiorily
to probe position two
at the region just above the Umbilicus to visualize
the Aorta all the way down to Bifurcation into the
Periceliac.
Now if we're having problems visualizing the Aorta
due to the presence of a lot of bowel gas,
we can also get a glimpse of the Aorta from probe position
three, the Right Hepatic area.
This is going to be about the region where we're
going to look at the trauma fast Right Upper Quadrant
view, but here were going to angle the probe more interior
over the kidney to get a glimpse at the Abdominal Aorta
and long access.
Here's an image showing the Antatomy of the Aorta
that we'll need to know to perform Beside Sonography
of this structure.
Recall that the Inferior Vena Caba and Aorta form
two pair tubular structures that course through
the Abdominal compartment.
The IVC will be towards the patient's right
and the Aorta will be over towards the patient's left-side.
We see here the first major Abdominal branch
of the Aorta which is the Celiac Axis made up
predominantly of the Hepatic Artery
and the Splenic Artery.
The third branch, the left Gastric Artery is not
well seen on Bedside Sonography.
The next major branch that we can see using
Bedside Sonography is the Superior Mesenteric Artery.
This is a very important landmark as the Renal
Artery and Vein come out the Aorta at about this level.
In fact the Left Renal Vein courses right below the
Superior Mesenteric Artery.
We need to pay particular attention to the Infer-Renal
part of the Aorta as this is where the majority of
the Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms will originate.
Now we need to scan all the way down to the Bifurcation
of the Aorta into the Periceliac Arteries
and sometimes we'll catch small aneurysms
at the Distal Aspect of the Aorta that branch
into the Illiac Artery.
This is a Short-Axis configuration taken
of the Abdominal Aorta just below the subxiphoid
process of the Sternum looking through the liver.
Now, our first landmark should be the spine.
Notice that it has a hyperechoic or bright appearance
on Bedside Ultrasound.
Just above the spine we see the Inferior Vena Cava
with it's Respiratory Phasic Pulsations
towards the patient's right and the Aorta
towards the patient's left side.
We can apply Doppler sonography to further differentiate
the two structures and notice here we're doing Colorflow
Doppler and we again recognize the spine as our landmark
for recognizing the Vascular structures of the IVC
and the Aorta on top of the spine
and we see the Phasic Respitory pattern of bloodflow
within the IVC and the steady pulsations of blood
within the Aorta with each heart beat
differentiating the two structures.
Let's now take a closer look at the Celiac Axis,
the first major branch of the Abdominal Aorta
The Celiac Axis has the Ultrasound appearance of
a seagull sign and it's made up of three arteries,
the Hepatic Artery, the Splenic Artery
and the Left Gastric Artery, although the third
is usually not visualized well with Bedside Sonography.
Now, let's take a look at some Ultrasound images
of the Celiac Axis and we see a B-mode or gray scale
image to the upper right.
Notice the IVC to the right and the Aorta to the left.
We see the Celiac Axis coming off the Aorta
having the appearance of a seagull in flight.
Notice that the right wing of the seagull will
be the Hepatic Artery coursing towards the patient's
right side and the Splenic Artery will be branching
over towards the patient's left.
To the bottom we see a Colorflow Doppler image
of the Celiac Axis showing flow within both
the Hepatic and Splenic Arteries.
Here's a video clip of the Celiac Axis in action.
Again, we're in the short-axis configuration with the
probe marker over towards the patient's right side.
We identified the spine as our landmark for identification
of the IVC and Aorta Anterior to the spine
and we see here that the bright bone table
of the spine.
Notice the Inferior Vena Cava towards
the patient's right side and we see the Aorta
towards the patient's left side.
With the seagull sign made up of the Celiac Axis
coming up the Aorta.
Here we have video clip in which we'll look at
Ultrasonic appearance of the Celiac Axis using
Doppler Sonography.
We've again identified the spine by it's
hyperechoic or bright appearance and we see the IVC
over towards the patient's right and the Aorta towards
the patient's left.
As we look closely at the Aorta we see the branch
the Celiac Axis coming up anteriorly from the Aorta.
Again, having that classic appearance of the seagull sign
with the two branches, the Hapatic and Splenic Arteries.
The second major branch of the Abdominal Aorta
is Superior Mesenteric Artery also known as the SMA.
Now, the Superior Mesenteric Artery has a classic
appearance as it has a bright or hyperechoic rim
due to fat wrapped around the Artery.
Remember that it's at this level that the Renal Artery
and veins come up the IVC and Aorta and we must be very
aware of the Aorta at this area because of the presence
of Infer-Renal Aortic Aneurysms.
We see a B-mode or gray scale image over to the right
and we see the IVC and Aorta on top of the spine.
Notice the classic appearance of the Superior Mesenteric
Artery as it arches up the Aorta with it's hyperechoic
or bright rim.
Here we actually catch the Splenic Vein passing Anterior
to the Super Mesenteric Artery.
To the bottom we see a Colorflow Doppler image showing
the Superior Mesentary Artery coming off of the Aorta.
This video clip show the Proximal Abdominal Aorta
in short axis.
We identify the spine and the Aorta on top of
the spine.
There's the Celiac Axis coming up
and there's the Superior Mesenteric Artery
with the Splenic Vein over the top,
so again, Celiac and there's SMA and there's
the Splenic Vein wrapped on top.
Let's freeze down that image and again identify
the Superior Mesenteric Artery
with it's bright or hyperechoic rim
and the Splenic Vein passing anterior
to the SMA.
Here we'll apply Colorflow Doppler to further
examine the Superior Mesenteric Artery
coming up the Aorta.
We identify the Aorta on top of the spine
and we can see the Superior Mesenteric Artery
coming up anterior
from the Aorta.
Notice we can also catch the Splenic Vein wrapped
on top of the Superior Mesenteric Artery.
We'll go ahead and freeze that down.
There's Aorta towards the back of the image,
the Superior Mesenteric Artery anterior to the Aorta
and the Splenic Vein arching on top of SMA.
To complete your examination of the Aorta
it's important to look all the way to Bifurcation.
Here where I identified the spine and on top of that
the Distal Aorta and Short Axis.
As we scan more Distally, down to the level
of the Umbillicus, here we see the Bifurcation
of the Illiac Arteries.
So, we'll watch that again and there we see
Bifurcation bright at that point here.
There's the Periceliac Arteries and we can see
the right and left Illiac Arteries delineated well
on B-mode imaging.
Now we'll apply Colorflow Doppler
to look at the Birfurcation of the Aorta.
Again, we're in the Short Axis configuration
and we see the spine, the IVC to the right
and the Aorta to the left.
Let's put this into video play, now.
What we see here is the pulsations of flow within
the IVC and Aorta and we can see the Aorta
branching right there to the Periceliac Arteries.
Notice the pulsations within the both
of the Periceliac Arteries.
We'll still that down and we can see the right and the left
Illiac Arteries well delineated
with the Colorflow Doppler.
It's always important to look at body structures
in two planes, so now we're going to inspect
the Aorta in a Long Axis view.
The probe is place in the mid-sagittal orientation
with the marker towards the patient's head.
We have Superior to the left and Inferior
to the right.
We can identify the Aorta with it's pulsations and
it's thick muscular wall.
We see the branches of the Aorta, the Celiac Axis
branching more superiorly and the Superior
Mesentaric Artery
arching inferiorly into the intestine.
We can apply Colorflow Doppler
to the Aorta in Long Axis view,
and again, we can see the pulsations of the Aorta
with each heart beat.
We see the liver anteriorly in the mid-sagittal
configuration and notice the Celiac Axis arching here
superiorly and the Superior Mesentaric Artery moving
inferiorly down towards the intestine.
In conclusion, thanks for joining me
for this SoundBytes Module cover Part one
of Beside Ultrasound of the Aorta.
Using Bedside Ultrasound to detect an Abdominal
Aortic Anuerysms remains one of the most crucial
applications of Point of Care Sonography
for the Emergency Physician.
Hopefully by going through the module you now understand
the anatomy of the Abdominal Aorta, how to perform
the Ultrasound Exam of this structure and how
to interpret the images of the Aorta that you will obtain.
I hope to see you back as SoundBytes continues
and as we return in Beside Ultrasound of the Aorta
Part two when we're going to focus entirely on the
detection of Abdominal Aortic Anuerysms.

Brightcove ID

5508121223001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=uiTsFtanyzM

How to: Abdominal Aorta Measurements

Read more about How to: Abdominal Aorta Measurements

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Learn to measure the abdominal aorta with ultrasound.

Applications

Cardiology

Media Library Type

How To Videos

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Subtitles

- Once we've done the survey,
we wanna go back and take measurements
of the aorta in a transverse view in three levels.
One level is proximal above the level of the renal arteries,
the second is just at the level of the renal arteries
and the third is at the level of the bifurcation.
We're gonna go back to the epigastric area
and look for our landmarks again.
In the middle of the screen we have the aorta pulsating
to the right of the aorta the IVC
and anterior to the aorta we have
the superior mesenteric artery.
I'm going to freeze the image here
and perform two measurements.
Measuring from the outside wall to outside wall,
so I measure the entire size of the aorta
and just the residual lumen of an aneurysm.
I will perform two measurements, anterior to posterior,
and a transverse measurement.
From there I'm gonna move a little bit more inferior
optimizing the image so I can see
the wall of the aorta clearly.
I will freeze the image.
Perform my measurements, the same two views again.
From the outside wall
to the outside wall,
that's the AP measurement and the same for the transverse.
The measurement is displayed on
the bottom left of the screen and
in this case our measurement is 1.36 centimeters
by 1.69 centimeters.
So we're looking for a value of over three centimeters
to be considered aneurysmal.
I'll keep moving down in a transverse view
towards the bifurcation.
Here we see the aorta divide.
So right before it divides, I want to
perform my measurement at that point.
So I will freeze and perform the
same two measurements again.
Anterior
and transverse.
From outside wall to outside wall.
And that is the completion of the measurements
you need to do for the abdominal aortic exam.

Brightcove ID

5745409357001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=SHhKyEaW1NM

How to: Abdominal Aorta

Read more about How to: Abdominal Aorta

/sites/default/files/10_Abdominal_Aortic_Aneurysm_Scanning_Technique.jpg

Learn to examine the abdominal aorta with ultrasound.

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Subtitles

- So what I'd like to do now
is walk you through the abdominal aortic exam.
We do this exam when we're looking for
abdominal aortic aneurysm.
We're gonna use a phased array transducer.
This is a good all-purpose transducer
for the emergency department,
so you can use this for fast exam or abdominal aortic exam.
We're gonna start in the transverse view.
I'm going to put some gel on the patient,
from the epigastric area to the area of the umbilicus,
in a straight line.
I'm going to orient the transducer
so the marker is to the patient's right.
And i'm gonna place it straight up and down
in the epigastric area.
The first thing that you're gonna see
on the ultrasound image
is a round, pulsating structure in the middle of the image,
and this will be the aorta.
Immediately posterior to this round, pulsating area
will be the shadow of the spine.
So we just see the anterior surface of the spine
as the white, bright line,
and then behind this, we see a shadow.
That is what we call the spine shadow,
and you can use that as your landmark
to identify the aorta all the way down the body.
So we're gonna start in the epigastric area,
assessing the size of the aorta.
The first landmarks that we want to see,
to know that we are superior enough
above the renal arteries, is the SMA.
This is going to appear as a smaller anechoic circle
just anterior to the aorta.
So just be careful you don't mistake this
actually for the aorta 'cause it is possible
there could be an aneurysm
in the superior mesenteric artery as well.
Immediately anterior to this is the pancreas,
and then, to the right of the patient,
on the left of the screen, we see the IVC
as this hypoechoic structure.
So from this point, we're gonna move down
we're looking for the left renal vein to cross over
as our landmark for the renal level,
and we're gonna continue moving inferiorly.
If you see bowel gas like this,
just wiggle the transducer a little bit
to try to push it out of the way and work around it.
And I'm gonna decrease my depth as I move inferior
because the aorta is gonna move anterior in the body.
So I can decrease my depth to get it into better view.
'Kay, and we're dealing with some bowel gas here.
I just push it away with the transducer,
and here's the aorta, pulsating,
just sitting anterior to the spine,
with the IVC to the right.
I'm going to continue down to the level of the umbilicus,
pushing away the bowel gas,
and here, I see the aorta divide
into right and left iliac arteries.
So now we see two round circles instead of one.
Once we finish the transverse sweep,
we're gonna turn the transducer so the orientation marker
is facing the patient's head.
We'll place it again starting at the epigastric level.
I'm gonna increase the depth here a little bit,
find the aorta, and, at this point,
because I'm in a sagittal view,
it should appear as a long, black tube
moving from the left to the right of the image.
We can see here in the image,
I'm in the very proximal portion of the aorta.
We see the liver anterior to the aorta.
I move up a little bit, I can see the heart beating
just above the diaphragm.
So I know I'm at the very proximal level,
and I'm just gonna start to survey down the aorta.
The branch that I'm seeing here, coming at a shallow angle,
is the superior mesenteric artery.
So I know I'm above the level of the renal arteries
when I see that landmark.
I'm gonna continue down,
following it in a longitudinal view,
and again, I see the shadow of the spine
directly posterior to the aorta.
I keep moving down, working around the bowel gas,
looking for the long, black tube
immediately anterior to the spine.
And again, I do this all the way down
to the level of the umbilicus.
And I will see a left iliac artery
and a right iliac artery.
And again, I can decrease the depth to optimize my image
because it is so anterior
by the time you get to the umbilicus.

Brightcove ID

5745320579001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=AqAHzGijNIo

Edge: Aorta Sagital

Read more about Edge: Aorta Sagital

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3D How To: Abdominal Aorta Exam

Read more about 3D How To: Abdominal Aorta Exam

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3D animation demonstrating an Aorta ultrasound exam.

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Subtitles

- [Voiceover] A curved or phased array transducer
with an abdomen exam type is used to perform
an aorta ultrasound exam.
The entire length of the aorta from
the level of the diaphragm
to the bifurcation of the iliac arteries
must be evaluated in two planes.
The examination begins with the transducer
placed transversely in the epigastric mid line,
with the marker directed to the patient's right.
The aorta is seen as a round, pulsatile structure,
anterior to the bright reflection of the vertebrae.
The vena cava is an oval structure
immediately to the left of the aorta on the screen,
which changes in caliber with compression
or deep inspiration.
The abdominal aorta will course gradually,
becoming more superficial as it progresses distally.
The transducer is slowly moved distally
to identify the celiac trunk,
renal arteries,
superior mesenteric artery,
and bifurcation to the iliac arteries.
Note the location of any change in size
of the aorta or iliac arteries,
and measure in long and short axis views
from outer wall to outer wall
to determine the true diameter.
The transducer is returned to the epigastric area
and rotated 90 degrees clockwise,
with the orientation marker to the patient's head.
The transducer is swept side to side
to identify the maximal diameter of the aorta.
The abdominal aorta will have proximal to distal taper.
The transducer is moved distally
to evaluate the walls of the aorta
for any change in the shape or size.
If the aorta is difficult to visualize
due to overlying bowel, gentle downward transducer pressure
may encourage peristalsis of the overlying bowel.
Alternatively, consider moving the patient
into a left lateral decubitus position
to re-position the bowel away from the field of view.

Brightcove ID

5508114778001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=NI-tU5w-gzg

3D How To: Deep Vein Thrombosis Exam

Read more about 3D How To: Deep Vein Thrombosis Exam

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3D animation demonstrating a Deep Vein Thrombosis ultrasound exam

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How To Videos

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Lower Extremity

Patency

Mid Thigh

Common Femoral Vein

Subtitles

- [Voiceover] A linear array transducer
with a venus exam type is used to perform
a lower extremity, deep vein thrombosis ultrasound exam.
At least three evaluation sites are necessary.
Common femoral vein, at the saphenofemoral junction,
confluence of the proximal deep femoral vein,
and the superficial femoral vein,
and the popliteal vein.
The patient is in a supine position
with the leg in slight external rotation and flexion.
Place the transducer in a transverse position
with the orientation marker to the patient's right side,
at the level of the inguinal ligament.
The three structures of the femoral triangle are visualized.
The common femoral artery, common femoral vein,
and greater saphenous vein.
The common femoral artery is round and pulsatile,
and the common femoral vein is thin-walled,
oval in shape and collapsible with compression.
The greater saphenous vein confluence
is observed at the anterior aspect
of the common femoral vein.
With the transducer perpendicular to the skin,
apply gentle downward compression
until the vein collapses
and the anterior and posterior walls completely touch.
Slide the transducer distally to the level
of the confluence of
the superficial femoral and proximal deep femoral veins.
Repeat the compression technique,
demonstrating complete collapse of the veins.
Move the transducer to the popliteal fossa.
From this approach, the popliteal vein
will appear anterior to the popliteal artery.
Repeat the compression technique.

Brightcove ID

5508123491001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=khD3dnxEt2o

Case: DVT Ultrasound Part 2

Read more about Case: DVT Ultrasound Part 2

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Deep-Vein Thrombosis and Ultrasound: Case Study

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Thrombosis

Thrombus

Vein

Subtitles

- Hello, my name is Phil Perera,
and I'm the Emergency Ultrasound Co-Director
at the L.A. County U.S.C. Medical Center
in Los Angeles, California.
And welcome to SoundBytes.
Welcome back to SoundBytes Ultrasound
and part two of the bedside DVT ultrasound evaluation.
Hopefully you've had a chance
to complete part one of the module prior,
looking at the normal anatomy of the leg veins
and normal compression examination looking for a DVT.
In this module part two,
we'll specifically examine positive DVT examinations
using the focused exam to look at the femoral
and popliteal veins.
A DVT will be identified by a failure
of venous compression using the high frequency probe.
We'll wrap up the module by looking at some DVT mimics
and alternative findings that you may encounter
on bedside ultrasound examination of the leg.
To reemphasize the positive findings
on lower extremity DVT ultrasound,
a thrombosed vein will not completely compress
with pressure down by the high frequency probe.
We may be able to observe echogenic material
within the vessel lumen consistent with a clot,
but that has to do with the age of a clot.
Fresh clot may be more echogenic or bright in nature,
whereas older clot may be more organized and darker
or hypoechoic on bedside ultrasound examination.
This video clip was taken from a patient
who presented to the emergency department
with a painful and swollen leg.
We're using doppler flow
to first identify the target femoral artery and vein.
We can see here the doppler pulsations
within the femoral artery noted lateral
or towards the left of the image.
We see here the femoral vein towards the right
or towards the medial aspect of the image
and note the lack of doppler flow.
Looking within the vessel, we can see swirls of thrombus
within the femoral vein consistent with clot.
And we note also the saphenous vein
on top of the femoral vein is also thrombosed.
We note here that there's no doppler pulsations
within the femoral vein as the result of blockage
due to the clot.
Now that we've identified the target femoral artery
and vein using doppler flow,
we can switch over to grayscale or B-mode sonography.
Here we're looking at the femoral artery
as it bifurcates into the profundus
and superficialis arteries.
And we note here towards the medial aspect of the artery,
or towards the right, the femoral vein.
Again, looking within the femoral vein,
we see swirls of echogenic clot consistent
with fresh thrombus.
And we note again that the saphenous vein
off the top of the femoral vein appears clotted as well.
So our next move would be to apply compression down
onto the vessels to look for compressibility of the vein.
Here we note we're compressing down
with a high frequency linear array type probe,
and we can see indentation of the femoral arteries
towards the left.
But note here the failure of compression of the femoral vein
due to the presence of thrombus within the lumen.
And we can see the thrombus moving around
as we press down with the probe.
Again, a positive DVT exam based on the fact
of failure of compression of the femoral vein.
Now let's look at another video clip showing a positive DVT
in a patient presenting to the emergency department
with a painful and swollen leg.
We're using doppler flow again
to target the femoral vessels,
and we see the pulsations of the femoral artery
lateral to the femoral vein.
We note here the absence of flow within the femoral vein,
suspicious for a DVT,
but our next move would be to apply compression
down with a probe.
Here we're compressing
with a high frequency linear type array probe
directly onto the femoral vein,
and we note the failure of compression of the vessel.
We can also see a rocking movement of the thrombus
within the lumen of the vessel.
Notice that it rocks back and forth
as we apply pressure down with the probe.
Again, a positive finding for a DVT of the femoral vein.
This video clip was taken from a post-surgical patient
with a painful, swollen leg.
We're applying compression down
to the common femoral vessels,
and we notice right away a positive finding
within the femoral vein.
We see here echogenic swirls of clot
and notice the failure of compression
of the vein with probe pressure.
Here we also see the saphenous vein
towards the anterior part of the image
above the femoral vein, also with clot formation.
And we notice that the saphenous vein fails
to compress down with probe pressure.
Now let's move down the leg and look specifically
at the popliteal vein.
Here are two video clips,
towards the left, the B-mode or grayscale sonography image,
and towards the right, a color-flow doppler.
We identified the popliteal vein
as seen towards the top of the image,
effectively posterior to the popliteal artery.
And we can identify the color-flow flashes,
the pulsations of the popliteal artery,
as seen deep to the image here.
Notice the echogenic swirls of clot
within the popliteal vein,
and to the left here we're compressing down
and we note the popliteal vein fails
to compress secondary to the DVT.
This video clip was taken from a patient
who presented with a painful, swollen calf.
We identified the popliteal vein
as seen to the top of the image,
or posterior in relation to the popliteal artery,
which is seen here anteriorly,
or towards the bottom of the image.
Now, we're pressing down with the probe,
applying pressure to the popliteal vein,
and we notice a positive finding.
The popliteal vein fails to compress
with direct probe pressure.
Now, what's interesting as in contrast to other clips
in this module, we don't really identify the swirls
of echogenic clot within this popliteal vein,
thus this was an older clot
that has been more organized with time,
thus giving a darker appearance more hypoechoic in nature.
Now let's turn to a discussion of some potential pitfalls
within DVT ultrasonography.
In the femoral region, lymph nodes may appear
as a thrombosed vein with a failure to compress
on bedside sonography.
Therefore, it's very important to adequately determine
the location of the femoral artery and vein
and compare that to the location of the lymph node.
The lymph node will be a single structure,
unlike the paired femoral vessels.
Also, the lymph node will usually be seen more superficial
to the vascular structures of the femoral artery and vein.
Here's an example of a femoral lymph node.
Notice that it has the appearance
of what could be construed as a DVT.
We see the node,
and it looks like it has echogenic material within it,
but this is the normal ultrasound finding of a lymph node.
Notice that it's a single structure
and not related to the common femoral artery
as a DVT would be within the common femoral vein.
Here we changed the magnification or the depth
of the ultrasound image to better investigate the lymph node
in its relation to the femoral vessels.
Note the single node, the femoral node seen superficial
to the femoral vessels as seen deep within the image.
Note that the node is single,
in contrast to the paired femoral vessels seen deeper.
As we progress down the leg,
we can encounter another potential pitfall
within the realm of DVT ultrasound,
and that is the alternative finding of a Baker's cyst.
A Baker's cyst can be encountered just behind the knee
within the popliteal region.
This cyst can result from an outpouching
of synovial fluid from the knee joint,
usually in patients with advanced arthritis.
Unfortunately, the Baker's cyst can rupture,
spreading inflammatory joint fluid down the leg,
and can present very similarly to a DVT.
This video clip demonstrates the typical appearance
of an unruptured Baker's cyst.
This Baker's cyst was found in the popliteal region
of a patient who was referred to the emergency department
for a swelling behind the knee.
Here we see the typical appearance of a cyst
that is that of a dark or anechoic fluid collection
on bedside sonography.
In this video clip we're going to change the depth
of the ultrasound image to better interrogate
the Baker's cyst in its relation
to the popliteal artery and vein.
Here we see the single superficial Baker's cyst
to the right in its relation to the popliteal artery
and vein seen deeper on the image and to the left.
And note that they have very different appearances,
that the Baker's cyst is a single structure
in contrast to the paired popliteal vessels.
In this video clip we see a large ruptured Baker's cyst
tracking down the calf
and closely approximating a DVT on clinical examination.
We see a short axis view to the left.
And I'm gonna start with the probe high
within the popliteal fossa right here.
I'm gonna move the probe down the calf,
and we can see that the fluid collection spreads
all the way down the calf.
In the long axis view to the right,
I'm gonna start by showing the superior axis to the left
and inferior to the right.
And we can see the fluid collection
of the ruptured Baker's cyst tracking from superior
all the way inferiorly down the calf.
So thanks for tuning in for this SoundBytes module
going over bedside DVT examination part two.
Now you've learned the focused bedside
DVT ultrasound examination
and can quickly evaluate both the femoral
and popliteal veins for clot.
This can be a very helpful examination
in working up those patients with a swollen and painful leg,
allowing for initiation of timely and appropriate therapy.
This bedside DVT examination can also be used
to look for DVT in cases of suspected pulmonary embolus.
So I hope to see you back in the future
as SoundBytes continues.

Brightcove ID

5508109927001

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jg0TwINcZqE

Case: DVT Ultrasound Part 1

Read more about Case: DVT Ultrasound Part 1

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Case Study on Deep Vein Thrombosis.

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Case Study Videos

Media Library Tag

Lower Extremity

Patency

Mid Thigh