In undifferentiated shock, a brief protocolised bedside ultrasound — heart, inferior vena cava, lungs and aorta — separates causes that demand opposite treatments faster than waiting for formal imaging.
Look specifically for pericardial tamponade, a strained right ventricle suggesting massive pulmonary embolism, a tension pneumothorax, and an empty, collapsing vena cava pointing to hypovolaemia. Let the findings direct resuscitation, but treat the scan as a focused screen read in context, not a definitive study: a normal scan is reassurance, not exclusion.
- Scan the heart, inferior vena cava, lungs and aorta early in undifferentiated shock.
- Look for tamponade, a strained right ventricle, tension pneumothorax and hypovolaemia.
- Use the findings to direct resuscitation, not to replace definitive imaging.
- Treat a normal focused scan as reassurance, not exclusion.
Why it matters
These causes need opposite treatments, and the bedside scan sorts them in minutes when the diagnosis is unclear.
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