Ten Basic Principles about Critical Ultrasonography: Critical Care Practitioners Need to Know

With the noninvasive, convenient, and unique value in the quick diagnosis and dynamic monitoring during the course of treatment, critical ultrasonography has been widely used in critical care medicine, regarded as the “visual stethoscope” and applied in medical education and training system.[1] Based on years of experience in the application and promotion of critical ultrasonography, the authors of this study suggested that a proper understanding of critical ultrasonography is of most importance, and a consistent quality control system is required to minimize misdiagnosis, missed diagnosis, and dependence on operators. To ensure the clinical value of critical ultrasonography, avoid misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis, and improve the quality control system, this study established ten basic principles for critical care ultrasound.