Specialities

Courtesy of FUJIFILM Sonosite ANZ The Fremantle Dockers Football team have been using on-field Ultrasound as a way to visualize and diagnose soft tissue injuries with their players. The Sonosite Edge portable Ultrasound system provides beautiful images of the ribs and soft tissues for "match-day" diagnosis. This information allows the physician and coach to make an informed decision of whether the player should be sent back out in the field.

I find it ironic that one of the most efficient ways to detect pneumothorax in patients is also one of the most effective ways to prevent two of its more common clinical causes.

While scenarios that might trigger the suspicion of pneumothorax are too numerous to list, screening for it has included the standard trinity of chest-imaging procedures: x-rays, tomography, and ultrasound. In “Think Ultrasound When Evaluating for Pneumothorax” (featured in AIUM’s Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine), author Vicki E. Noble, MD, of Massachusetts General, proposes that ultrasound is the ideal screening modality due to its portability and lack of “risk associated with repeated measures as clinical scenarios change.”

Dr. Noble’s article goes on to provide instruction for performing the examination, incorporates excellent research citations, and then concludes: “Using thoracic sonography as a screening tool may lead to decreased ordering of chest radiographs, thus saving time and money and improving the efficiency of treatment.”

It may come as no surprise that my colleagues and I at Sonosite enthusiastically support Dr. Noble’s conclusion. The entire article—a part of AIUM’s “think ultrasound first” Sound Judgment Series—is available here and is worth a thorough read.