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World J Crit Care Med. Sep 9, 2021; 10(5): 204-219
Published online Sep 9, 2021. doi: 10.5492/wjccm.v10.i5.204
Point-of-care ultrasound in a pandemic: Practical guidance in COVID-19 units
Himanshu Deshwal, Deepak Pradhan, Vikramjit Mukherjee
Himanshu Deshwal, Deepak Pradhan, Vikramjit Mukherjee, Division of Pulmonary, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, United States
Author contributions: All authors reviewed the relevant literature, drafted and edited the final manuscript, contributed significantly to the manuscript preparation and submission; Deshwal H gave final approval for submission of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflict of interests to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Himanshu Deshwal, MBBS, MD, Academic Fellow, Doctor, Division of Pulmonary, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, 462 First Avenue NBV 7N24, New York, NY 10016, United States. himanshu.deshwal@gmail.com
Received: April 4, 2021
Peer-review started: April 4, 2021
First decision: June 5, 2021
Revised: June 5, 2021
Accepted: July 6, 2021
Article in press: July 6, 2021
Published online: September 9, 2021
Processing time: 157 Days and 19.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: In the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, advanced imaging is a great resource for diagnostic purposes but the risk of contamination and intra-hospital infection transmission is high and requires extensive logistical planning for intrahospital patient transport, healthcare provider safety, and post-imaging decontamination. Point-of-care ultrasonography is a reliable and resourceful tool for bedside diagnosis and clinical assessment. We discuss practical guidance and pertinent review of the literature for the most relevant procedural and diagnostic guidance of respiratory illness, hemodynamic decompensation, renal failure, and gastrointestinal disorders experienced by many patients admitted to COVID-units.