The Effect of Using Ultrasound in Daily Care of Patients under Mechanical Ventilation in the Emergency Department

Daily care in emergency department may lead to diagnosis of serious conditions in patients. A simple and accessible method for daily care of such patients may be beneficial for their diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ultrasonography on the daily care of patients undergoing mechanical ventilation in the emergency department. In this cross-sectional study, 57 adult patients under mechanical ventilation in the emergency department of Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran were selected for study. Patient demographic and clinical data were recorded in the checklist. The findings of daily sonography were compared with routine care in patients under mechanical ventilation in the emergency department. The mean age of the 57 adult patients included in this study was 65.2 ± 5.5 years. A total of 32 (56.1%) patients were male and 25 (43.9%) were female. The average length of stay was 3.47±1.1 days. The use of ultrasound in daily care for detecting the location of the tracheal tube, pneumothorax, consolidation, pleural effusion, echocardiography, deep vein thrombosis, subcutaneous edema, and ascites examination was effective and useful. Ultrasound was also effective in detecting 10.5% of abnormalities. Based on the findings of this study, the use of ultrasound in daily care in the emergency department is useful and also can be effective in diagnosing abnormal conditions in patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. More clinical studies are required in this field.