BIOGRAPHY
I am currently working as a Senior Medical Registrar in Christchurch Hospital. I am a dual trainee in Endocrinology and General Medicine. ABSTRACT
Utility of bedside echocardiogram in the General Medicine Department
H Chan 1, D Jardine 1,2 , D Cole 1,2
1 General Medicine Department, Christchurch Hospital, New Zealand
2 University of Otago, New Zealand
Introduction:
Bedside echocardiograms are not routinely used in the General Medicine department as most Physicians are not trained to use them. We have a SonoSite NanoMaxx ultrasound machine, with a General Physician who is trained to use the machine. We wanted to evaluate whether the use of echocardiogram affected patient’s clinical management, length of stay, and how well that correlated to the formal echocardiogram if one was requested.
Methods and results:
We present 28 patients who had bedside echocardiogram in ward round and outpatient clinic setting. There were 16 males and 12 females. Median age was 76.5 years old (range 18 – 93 years old). 25 of the echocardiograms were done in the ward, and 3 in outpatient setting. Median length of stay was 2 days (range 0 – 21 days). Reasons for the request of echocardiograms includes looking for evidence of left ventricular and right ventricular dysfunction, valvular disease, cor pulmonale and pericardial effusion. 9 formal echocardiograms was requested, primarily due to the findings on bedside echocardiograms. Findings on formal echocardiograms correlated very well with the bedside echocardiograms. Bedside echocardiogram findings changed management in 12 patients.
Conclusion:
Bedside echocardiogram is a useful tool in General Medicine setting and will aid prompt diagnosis and management of patients.
|