Pleural space and lung Veterinary Point of Care Ultrasound (VPOCUS)

Have you ever struggled with trying to decide why a cat is dyspneic (asthma vs. pleural effusion vs. heart disease) and thoracic radiographs are not possible for fear the patient may decompensate? Ever worry about being able to safely give a patient IV fluids or worry that giving additional IV fluid boluses may cause volume overload?  Ever wonder if you are missing something in the abdomen of a collapsed patient that presents in shock? Veterinary point of care ultrasound (VPOCUS) can help you manage these patients! VPOCUS techniques are rapid, easy-to-learn and practical ultrasound skills that ANY practitioner can apply in every day practice. VPOCUS is commonly used as a patient-side diagnostic tool to rapidly identify underlying conditions and help direct further diagnostics and therapy. VPOCUS has a high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of abdominal effusion and other abdominal applications (GI motility, bladder volume estimation, gallbladder halo, pneumoperitoneum), and several thoracic, vascular and cardiac pathologies (pneumothorax, pleural effusion, alveolar interstitial disease, left and right sided heart failure, pericardial effusion, intravascular volume estimation and response to fluid therapy). Have you ever struggled to place an IV catheter in a patients that are dehydrated, have hematomas, thick skin or edema? Ultrasound can help!

Through comprehensive lectures (with lots of ultrasound videos) and several case examples followed by a “how to” video, you will have the opportunity to learn the skills of VPOCUS. 

Objectives:

Chapter 1 Normal pleura and lung

This chapter introduces you to the normal anatomic structures and findings in the thorax of patients. By the end of the session you will be able to describe the normal findings that are key to identify when permorning ultrasound of the pleural space and lungs.

Chapter 2 Pneumothorax
Pneumothorax is traditionally difficult to identify in small animal patients. This session discussed the key criteria used to identify pneumothorax in small animals and some of the tricks to maximize the chances of confirming or ruling out a pneumothorax in dyspneic patients. 

Chapter 3 AIS and B lines
Detecting fluid in the lungs of dyspneic patients with ultrasound is relatively simply. By the end of this session you should be able to explain the features on ultrasound that are used to identify alveolar interstitial syndrome (lung fluid) and what pathologies can cause these signs. 

Chapter 4 Pleural effusion
Pleural effusion should be easy to diagnose with ultrasound, however, studies in veterinary medicine argue it is more difficult than most people think. This session focusses on tricks and tips to maximize the chances of detecting both large and small quantities of pleural effusion and how to differentiate pleural from pericardial effusion.

Chapter 5 Wrap up and final points to consider
By the end of this session you will be able to describe on of the more common lung and pleural space ultrasound protocols currently being used in veterinary medicine and explain the limitations of lung ultrasound with relation to pulmonary pathology.