Echocardiography in the Intensive Care Unit

Purpose of Review This review illustrates the incremental value of echocardiography as a bedsite tool for diagnosis and monitoring in critically ill patients with cardiopulmonary dysfunction. It provides practical guidance on the use of basic echocardiography in clinical scenarios frequently encountered in the ICU. Recent Findings Echocardiography has become readily accessible to critical care physicians now and equipment is even been designed specifically for use in acute and critical care environments. The most important barrier to a more widespread implementation of this technique today, however, is the lack of training and experience. Indeed, proficiency is an absolute requirement for echo-based decision-making to positively impact on patient outcome. Summary Echocardiography has become an indispensable tool in the management of critically ill patients with severe cardiorespiratory conditions. It has the potential to become a game changer in ICU but current studies do not yet indicate a beneficial effect on outcome. It appears that structured training and certification in basic echocardiography are an absolute necessity to catalyze the widespread adoption and to guarantee the optimal use of ultrasound in the care of critically ill patients.