Point-of-care Echocardiogram as the Key to Rapid Diagnosis of a Unique Presentation of Dyspnea: A Case Report.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Dyspnea is commonly evaluated in the emergency department (ED).The differential diagnosis is broad. Due to the large volume of dyspneic patients evaluated, emergency physicians (EP) will encounter uncommon diagnoses. Early, liberal application of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) may decrease diagnostic error and improve care for these patients.

Case report

We report a 48-year-old male presenting to the ED with cough and progressively worsening dyspnea for 11 months after multiple healthcare visits. Using POCUS, the EP was immediately able to diagnose a severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with left ventricular thrombus.

Conclusion

Given that non-ischemic DCM is one of the most common etiologies of heart failure, often presenting with respiratory symptoms,

SUBMITTER: Moore M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7434274 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature