May 2025 - Critical Care Compendium

🗞️ Ultrasound Application News

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is now recognized as an essential skill in anesthesiology, especially in perioperative and critical care settings. A recent article highlighted how anesthesiologists are using ultrasound for fast, effective diagnosis and procedural guidance across a wide range of clinical scenarios. Curious about the key takeaways? Dive into our latest blog post for a breakdown of the findings and why this matters for today’s providers.

📚 Case Study:  Echocardiography

What are the relevant sonographic findings?

Background:

• • Progressive dyspnea on exertion
  • Normal vital signs
  • No overt respiratory distress
    

    👇 What type of pathology is in this clip?

👩‍⚕️ Scanning & Imaging Tips: Ultrasound-Guided Procedures

Ultrasound-guided procedures require advanced visuomotor and visuospatial skill development. Whenever possible, the extremity holding the transducer should be stabilized by resting it on something stationary. Sometimes, one will only be able to stabilize the elbow, while other times, the base of the hand can remain stationary to allow just the fingers to manipulate and hold the transducer. The most precise transducer movement and pressure is applied using more distal muscles. Subtle pressure changes and movements are best achieved using finger movements rather than hand, arm, or shoulder adjustments. Precise transducer movements often lead to better quality images and improved procedural success.

🔎 Scan & Seek - Fun with Physics

Look below to see the chicken we hid in this image of a noncompressible common femoral vein with thrombus.

🧠 Challenge Case of the Month: Abdominal Aorta

Case History:  This 68-year-old male is noted to have a pulsatile midline abdominal mass on routine physical examination.

Evaluate his distal abdominal aorta with ultrasound.👇

✨ SonoSim Updates

Now CME-Eligible: Gastric Ultrasound Training

Our Gastric Ultrasound Training is now CME-eligible! Learn to confidently assess gastric content and aspiration risk with this comprehensive course that covers:

• • Gastric anatomy & key sonographic landmarks
  • Preparation & scanning techniques
  • CSA calculations & the Perlas grading system
  • Clinical applications for aspiration risk

Includes seven simulation cases featuring real sonographic anatomy to help develop critical visuospatial skills and scanning confidence.

New Course: Intro to U/S-Guided Regional Anesthesia
Ready to build foundational ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia skills? Our new Intro to U/S-Guided Regional Anesthesia Course is now available! This course covers critical topics including sonographic anatomy, procedural techniques, local anesthetic dosing, and complication management—everything you need to safely and effectively master the basics.

Subtitles Now Available on Findings Videos
For improved accessibility, English subtitles are now available on all expert-narrated Findings Videos. Plus, you can now customize subtitle text size and contrast colors for optimal visibility.
Be sure to download the latest version of SonoSim software to enable this feature.  

UpUpdated End-User Agreement

We have changed the terms of our end-user agreement. Be sure to read and accept on your next login.

💡 SonoSim Tips & Tricks

Need to clean up your saved images? You can easily delete ungraded SonoSimulator® images in two ways:

Need quick answers while using SonoSim? Try our AI Assistant, now available directly from your My SonoSim dashboard! Click the chat bubble in the bottom right corner to launch the assistant. Ask anything related to using SonoSim—how to access content, navigate features, or troubleshoot technical issues.

The assistant is powered by our Help Center, so it can provide fast, reliable answers to most product-related questions. For course content or learning-specific questions, please use the Content Search bar at the top of your dashboard. Whether you're getting started or looking for advanced features, help is just a click away.

😂 LOLtrasound

Image Credit: @thebluntsonographer

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