The ABCDs of ResUS – Resuscitation Ultrasound

Point-of-care ultrasound is ubiquitous in the hand of the clinician in many specialties, especially in the evaluation of the patient who is in shock or cardiac arrest. Two of the more common protocols are ACES (Abdominal and Cardiothoracic Evaluation with Sonography) and RUSH (Rapid Ultrasound for Shock and Hypotension). The purpose of this editorial is to introduce a new protocol that builds on many of the previous ones but is more comprehensive and easier to use. The ABCDs of ResUS - Resuscitation Ultrasound - is a systematic head to toe approach to facilitate the workup of the unstable patient. This includes viewing the A- Airway; B- Breathing (looking for pneumothorax); C- Cardiac, inferior vena cava (IVC), and the abdominal Core (Focussed Assessment with Sonography for Trauma- FAST exam); along with D- Deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Part or all of this protocol can be implemented based on the clinical circumstances to improve the diagnosis and management of critically ill patients.