<br />
Ultrasound<br />
Quick reference<br />
Ultrasound-assisted thoracentesis –<br />
static technique<br />
Arun Nagdev, MD<br />
Highland General Hospital, Division of Emergency Ultrasound<br />
The more you see, the more you can do<br />
Using ultrasound, clinicians can identify dependent pleural<br />
effusions and can determine which patients may benefit from<br />
a thoracentesis. The use of ultrasound to locate and mark<br />
an appropriate rib space before performing a thoracentesis<br />
on a moderate-to-large effusion has the potential to reduce<br />
errors and complications, specifically, pneumothoraces.1<br />
Ultrasound-eavsasliustaetdiotnhforractheentdeestisection<br />
of a pleural effusion<br />
Detection of a pleural effusion<br />
• Use either a curved or phased array<br />
transducer. With the patient supine,<br />
place the transducer in the mid-axillary<br />
line on the side of interest. Orient the<br />
transducer marker ce<a title="Ultrasound-assisted_thoracentesis_FNL_Zmag page 1" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/398d5367?page=1"> Ultrasound Quick reference Ultrasound-assi</a>
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<a title="Ultrasound-assisted_thoracentesis_FNL_Zmag page 7" href="http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/398d5367?page=7"> Ultrasound evaluation for the detection of a pleu</a>