Bedside echo can be very helpful in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism. There are a number of things to look for including septal bowing, right-heart strain in the form of increased RV size and decreased RV function, McConnell’s sign, and the always exciting clot in transit. Sarah Wolochatiuk is a PGY-4 in Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati just up the road from me. She has a great case presentation on the UC EM blog Taming of the SRU that covers all of this with some great echo images as well.
critical care notes 