Diagnostic Emergency Ultrasound: Assessment Techniques In The Pediatric Patient

Emergency ultrasound is performed at the point of care to answer focused clinical questions in a rapid manner. Over the last 20 years, the use of this technique has grown rapidly, and it has become a core requirement in many emergency medicine residencies and in some pediatric emergency medicine fellowships. The use of emergency ultrasound in the pediatric setting is increasing due to the lack of ionizing radiation with these studies, as compared to computed tomography. Utilizing diagnostic ultrasound in the emergency department can allow clinicians to arrive at a diagnosis at the bedside rather than sending the patient out of the department for another study. This issue focuses on common indications for diagnostic ultrasound, as found in the pediatric literature or extrapolated from adult literature where pediatric evidence is scarce. Limitations, current trends, controversies, and future directions of diagnostic ultrasound in the emergency department are also discussed.