Vol 14, No 3 (2020)
Case report
Published online: 2020-08-10
Possibilities of ultrasonography in diagnosing causes of dyspnea in palliative care cancer patients
Palliat Med Pract 2020;14(3):205-211.
Abstract
Dyspnea is an ailment which is relatively frequently reported by cancer patients, and it can be difficult to
determine the cause of the symptom at home hospice. Thanks to the application of mobile ultrasound
scanner, the physician can often determine the cause of dyspnea during a home visit, which makes it
unnecessary to carry out diagnostic procedures at the hospital. The article presents two cases of female
patients in whom the application of at-home ultrasound proved to be useful in determining the cause of
dyspnea. The first patient was diagnosed with pericardial tamponade at home — pericardial cavity puncture
was performed at the hospital — while in the case of the second patient, pneumonia was both diagnosed
and monitored at home with the use of ultrasonography.
Keywords: lung ultrasoundpoint-of-care ultrasonographypalliative caredyspnea
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