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Pediatric Rapid Ultrasound in Shock and Hypotension (RUSH) Exam

July 29, 2021
  • 00:00Hi, my name is Julie Leviter.
  • 00:04I'm an assistant professor of
  • 00:05clinical Pediatrics at Yale
  • 00:07University School of Medicine.
  • 00:09Let's talk about the pediatric rush exam.
  • 00:12Let's start with a case.
  • 00:14We have a 6 month old boy presenting
  • 00:17with fussiness and grunting.
  • 00:18Here are his vital signs.
  • 00:20He looks ill and he is pale and you
  • 00:23identify correctly that he is in shock.
  • 00:26But the question is what
  • 00:28type of shock is he in?
  • 00:30And we're going to use Pocus to
  • 00:32help us narrow our differential.
  • 00:37Let's talk first broadly
  • 00:39about the types of shock.
  • 00:41So here on the left hand
  • 00:43column we have hypovolemic,
  • 00:45cardiogenic obstructive and distributive.
  • 00:48And then in each of these columns,
  • 00:52we're going to find the pokus
  • 00:54findings for each of the heart IVC,
  • 00:58abdomen, and lungs.
  • 01:01In the right hand column,
  • 01:02now you see the differential for
  • 01:04each different type of shock,
  • 01:06and we're going to figure out how we can
  • 01:09use focus to to narrow our differential.
  • 01:12And figure out how to best treat
  • 01:15our patient in the acute setting.
  • 01:18Let's go back to our case.
  • 01:20In this six month old in shock,
  • 01:22we started with a cardiac ultrasound.
  • 01:27This is a phased array probe with the
  • 01:30probe marker pointed toward the right
  • 01:33shoulder in a parasternal Longview.
  • 01:35Here are the different chambers seen
  • 01:38the left ventricle left atrium,
  • 01:40right ventricle and aortic outflow tract.
  • 01:42Let's go through this systematically.
  • 01:45So in this view we can look for
  • 01:47a fusion ejection and equality.
  • 01:50Let's first talk about ejection fraction so
  • 01:53that LV has very poor ejection fraction.
  • 01:56Here I would say about 15% in
  • 01:59terms of effusion,
  • 02:00even though there's a small small sliver
  • 02:03of a black line at the posterior.
  • 02:06Of the heart here I would say there's
  • 02:08no significant pericardial effusion,
  • 02:10and I don't see any signs of RV strain here.
  • 02:13Let's look at the next slide.
  • 02:16So this is a parasternal short
  • 02:18view with the probe marker pointed
  • 02:21toward the patients right hip.
  • 02:23Here we see the left ventricle and
  • 02:26again evidence of very poor squeeze,
  • 02:29about 15%.
  • 02:30Still no design or signs of
  • 02:32right ventricle strain.
  • 02:36And here we're looking at the IVC view.
  • 02:39So we're going to look for signs of
  • 02:42collapse, ability with inspiration.
  • 02:43And here I would say it looks
  • 02:46fairly plethoric that it's not
  • 02:48really collapsing with respiration.
  • 02:53So here I've labeled the IVC and
  • 02:56this is going to tell us that we
  • 02:59really need to be very judicious
  • 03:01with fluids in this patient.
  • 03:04So what type of shock did this patient have?
  • 03:08This patient had cardiogenic shock.
  • 03:10The heart was hypo dynamic.
  • 03:11The IVC was plethoric.
  • 03:13We didn't look in the abdomen or lungs,
  • 03:16but if we looked in the abdomen it
  • 03:18probably would have been normal and if we
  • 03:21looked in the lungs we might have seen
  • 03:24signs of alveolar interstitial syndrome
  • 03:26or AI S where we would see beelines.
  • 03:29The diagnosis here was heart failure.
  • 03:33Our next patient is a 15 year
  • 03:35old gentleman with chest pain.
  • 03:37He had chest pain and shortness
  • 03:39of breath starting this morning,
  • 03:40no fevers, nausea, vomiting,
  • 03:42or upper respiratory symptoms.
  • 03:43His vitals are as you see here.
  • 03:45He appears short of breath clutching
  • 03:47his chest and he has decreased breath
  • 03:49sounds in the right hemithorax.
  • 03:51So what would you like to do first?
  • 03:56Let's go ahead and take our linear
  • 03:58probe in the longitudinal axis at
  • 04:00the 3rd to 4th intercostal space,
  • 04:03and you can put the depth at
  • 04:05about 4 centimeters unless they
  • 04:07have an obese body habitus.
  • 04:13So here's what we see in the
  • 04:15left and right lung fields.
  • 04:17So in the left lung field you see here
  • 04:20ribbon pleura and there's lung sliding.
  • 04:23You see that nice ants analogue appearance
  • 04:26where there's movement along the pleura.
  • 04:29On the right side here.
  • 04:32You see the ribbon pleura
  • 04:34and the pleural line.
  • 04:36There's no motion so this is very
  • 04:39concerning for a pneumo thorax.
  • 04:42Now we can go ahead and look for
  • 04:45the lung point as well to see where
  • 04:48in the thorax the pneumo thorax
  • 04:50ends and meets the ventilated lung,
  • 04:53but this patient had no lung
  • 04:55point on the right side,
  • 04:57indicating a substantial pneumo thorax.
  • 05:00We can also use M mode to differentiate
  • 05:03normal lung versus pneumothorax.
  • 05:05So in the left lung here we see the
  • 05:08seizure sign indicating a normally
  • 05:10ventilated lung in the right lung.
  • 05:13We have the barcode sign indicating a
  • 05:16pneumothorax or lack of ventilation.
  • 05:18So in this patient before an
  • 05:20X ray was even obtained,
  • 05:22the patient was moved into
  • 05:24the critical care Bay.
  • 05:26A needle decompression was performed.
  • 05:28Pediatric surgery was consulted
  • 05:29and preparations.
  • 05:30Were made for procedural sedation
  • 05:32and angsty lysis so that a
  • 05:35chest tube could be placed.
  • 05:36The chest X ray confirmed the
  • 05:38right sided pneumothorax with
  • 05:40left sided mediastinal shift
  • 05:41highly concerning for tension,
  • 05:43Physiology and management of this tension.
  • 05:45Pneumothorax was already in
  • 05:46progress before at the chest.
  • 05:48X Ray was obtained based
  • 05:50on the Pokus findings.
  • 05:54So what type of shock did this patient have?
  • 05:58This was obstructive shock.
  • 06:00So let's go through the different types
  • 06:03of obstructive shock and what you'd
  • 06:05find in each of these categories.
  • 06:07So in the heart you might find a pericardial
  • 06:10effusion if the causes cardiac tamponade,
  • 06:13or you might see right ventricle strain
  • 06:15if the cause was a pulmonary embolism,
  • 06:18the IVC will look plethoric no matter
  • 06:21what the abdomen would be normal and
  • 06:23the lungs if it was a pneumothorax
  • 06:25would have absent lung sliding on
  • 06:28the side of the pneumo thorax.
  • 06:33Our next case is a 17 year old woman
  • 06:36presenting with severe abdominal pain,
  • 06:38emesis and diarrhea.
  • 06:40Here are her vitals.
  • 06:41She has rebound tenderness to
  • 06:43palpation in her lower abdomen
  • 06:45and is diffusely guarding.
  • 06:47So what are the most pressing diagnosis
  • 06:50you would like to rule out with pokus?
  • 06:56So here we're looking at the right upper
  • 06:59quadrant using our curvilinear probe in
  • 07:01a corona plane with the probe marker
  • 07:04pointed towards the patients head we
  • 07:06see the liver and the. Kidney here.
  • 07:09And we're looking in Morrison's pouch,
  • 07:12and at the tip of the liver liver, no.
  • 07:15At the inferior tip.
  • 07:18We are seeing some free fluid
  • 07:21that black sliver there that.
  • 07:24Is a very concerning fast.
  • 07:31Here are the transverse and sagittal pelvic
  • 07:34views in the transverse pelvis view.
  • 07:36You see the bladder as a
  • 07:39rectangular anechoic structure
  • 07:40in the beginning of the clip,
  • 07:42and then as we sweep the pelvis,
  • 07:45we see all that free fluid coming
  • 07:48into view in that sagittal view.
  • 07:50The bladder is that circumscribed
  • 07:53structure on the right side of
  • 07:55the screen and then everything
  • 07:57superior to it is black free fluid.
  • 08:01So what type of shock was this?
  • 08:04This is hypovolemic shock so you
  • 08:07can see this in trauma situations
  • 08:09in a ruptured ectopic like this
  • 08:12one and other examples as well.
  • 08:15In hypovolemic shock,
  • 08:16the heart will typically look hyperdynamic.
  • 08:18The IVC will be collapsed.
  • 08:20The abdomen may be positive if
  • 08:23this is the source of bleeding
  • 08:26and the lungs will be normal.
  • 08:29Our next case is a 10 month old
  • 08:31boy with emesis and lethargy.
  • 08:34He had been seen in an outside
  • 08:36hospital the day prior with emesis
  • 08:39diagnosed with gastroenteritis.
  • 08:40Tolerated PO in Vincent home,
  • 08:42then he returned early the next
  • 08:45morning with recurrent vomiting and
  • 08:47respiratory distress was sent to your
  • 08:49hospital with concern for sepsis,
  • 08:51an exam this patient is ill
  • 08:54appearing minimally responsive,
  • 08:55cyanotic with significant abdominal
  • 08:57distention. Here are his vitals.
  • 08:59His blood pressure 70.
  • 09:01/ 30 in heart rate 205.
  • 09:04How would you like to use pocus
  • 09:06in this patient to differentiate
  • 09:07the source of shock?
  • 09:11So in this patient.
  • 09:13The user started with the
  • 09:15linear probe on the abdomen.
  • 09:18Because of that abdominal
  • 09:20distention on the left,
  • 09:22you see the classic target sign
  • 09:26of ileocolic intussusception.
  • 09:28The whole target sign is greater
  • 09:30than two centimeters diameter,
  • 09:31so this is more likely ileo colic
  • 09:34as opposed to ilio ilio and in
  • 09:36the center you see a lymph node
  • 09:38which is a frequent lead point of
  • 09:41intussusception in kids these age.
  • 09:43On the right side you see.
  • 09:46Dilated non peristalsis in loops of bowel.
  • 09:51This is consistent with sbo
  • 09:53secondary to intussusception,
  • 09:54and can also be consistent with
  • 09:57ileus in this very sick infant.
  • 10:02Here are the radiographs which
  • 10:04demonstrate dilated small bowel loops
  • 10:07with air fluid levels in the left
  • 10:09side of the abdomen with a paucity
  • 10:12of gas in the small bowel loops
  • 10:14on the right side of the abdomen
  • 10:16and large bell concerning for high
  • 10:19grade small bowel obstruction.
  • 10:21This patient was taken emergently to
  • 10:23the OR where they resected bowel.
  • 10:26Here pokus expedited diagnosis
  • 10:28and operative management.
  • 10:30So what type of shock was this?
  • 10:34This was distributive shock.
  • 10:35Some things you might see in a patient
  • 10:39with distributive shock might be a
  • 10:42perforated appendicitis in the abdomen
  • 10:44and intussusception or in the lungs.
  • 10:46You might see pneumonia.
  • 10:49In general,
  • 10:50the heart will be hyperdynamic and
  • 10:52the IVC will be normal or collapsed.
  • 10:58Here's an illustration of the
  • 11:00Rush algorithm suggestion.
  • 11:01There are a couple of Numonyx that
  • 11:05people use to remember the different
  • 11:07components to the Rush protocol,
  • 11:10and remember that this was
  • 11:12developed in adult patients.
  • 11:14So one is the pump, the tank,
  • 11:17the pipes, the pump being the heart,
  • 11:20the tank being the thorax and
  • 11:23abdomen and the pipes being the
  • 11:26aorta and IVC another mnemonic.
  • 11:28Is high map HIMAP for heart IVC,
  • 11:32Morrison's aorta, pulmonary?
  • 11:34And then you can also
  • 11:37consider adding DVT into that.
  • 11:40In pediatric patients in general,
  • 11:42we're not that interested in the aorta
  • 11:45or DVT unless there are risk factors.
  • 11:49But I do encourage you to look
  • 11:52for intussusception as part of the
  • 11:55abdomen portion of the Rush protocol.
  • 11:58Some people have termed this
  • 12:00component as the pediatric pipes,
  • 12:02so always look for those pediatric
  • 12:05pipes being intussusception and
  • 12:07some have also advocated for
  • 12:10looking for intracranial hemorrhage.
  • 12:12In through that with the trans.
  • 12:15Fontanelle ultrasound in infants.
  • 12:19Let's talk about some of the
  • 12:21literature behind the Rush protocol.
  • 12:24So this was one prospective
  • 12:26observational study in an academic Ed.
  • 12:29They used a convenience sample
  • 12:32of 118 patients with systolic
  • 12:34blood pressure less than 90.
  • 12:36After an initial fluid bullets without
  • 12:39obvious source of hypo tension,
  • 12:42they found a significant decrease
  • 12:44in diagnostic uncertainty when
  • 12:46Pocus was used and in increase.
  • 12:49In the proportion with a definitive
  • 12:51diagnosis from .8 to 12.7 percent,
  • 12:5425% had a significant change
  • 12:56in the use of Ivy fluids,
  • 12:59vasoactive agents,
  • 13:00or blood products,
  • 13:01and 30% had a change in the
  • 13:04major diagnostic imaging used.
  • 13:09Here's another study.
  • 13:10This was a prospective,
  • 13:12observational controlled study
  • 13:14in an academic hospital floor.
  • 13:17It included 165 patients.
  • 13:19Including 83 in the focus group
  • 13:23and 82 in the control group.
  • 13:26They had two hospital floor teams
  • 13:29which alternated every other day
  • 13:32on patients with acute respiratory
  • 13:34and or circulatory failure.
  • 13:36Only one of the teams used an ultrasound
  • 13:40device that was the focus group,
  • 13:43so they found that the proportion
  • 13:46of adequate immediate diagnosis
  • 13:48was 94% in the focus group.
  • 13:51And 80% in the control group that
  • 13:54was statistically significant.
  • 13:55There was also a statistically
  • 13:57significant time difference in the
  • 14:00time to 1st treatment or intervention.
  • 14:04And it was shorter in the focus group.
  • 14:06So 15 minutes in that group,
  • 14:0834 minutes in the control group.
  • 14:11They found that pokas may improve
  • 14:13the proportion of patients
  • 14:15with an adequate diagnosis.
  • 14:16The time to initial treatment,
  • 14:18and perhaps survival.
  • 14:24Let's go back to this chart of
  • 14:26the different types of shock.
  • 14:28Where might you start with your probe?
  • 14:30I'll tell you that the first
  • 14:32thing that I look like like to
  • 14:34look at is the heart and IBC.
  • 14:36The heart and IVC can tell you immediately
  • 14:39if you need to be judicious with fluids,
  • 14:42or if you need to start major fluid
  • 14:44resuscitation which is of utmost importance
  • 14:46to differentiate in a patient in shock,
  • 14:48then you can tailor the rest of
  • 14:50your assessment based on your
  • 14:52suspicion for different pathologies
  • 14:53or do a complete assessment.
  • 14:55In the undifferentiated patient,
  • 14:57use a mnemonic of your choosing and
  • 14:59go out there and save some lives.
  • 15:02Thank you so much.
  • 15:03I would love to hear your questions,
  • 15:06comments and stories.
  • 15:07You can email me at julieleviter@yale.edu.
  • 15:10Thank you again.