POCUS thoracic of the anterior chest in a supine patient. Clinical question: Does my patient have a clinically significant pneumothorax? The linear transducer is your probe of choice, with the visual field set to a depth of approximately 4 cm. If no pneumothorax, the pleural line will be seen shimmering/sliding (Clip 1 above). On either side of the pleural line we see ribs casting a dark shadow deep on the screen. In 2016 Helland et al determined that two views of the anterior chest in a supine patient rules out a clinically significant pneumothorax. Clinical Pearl: This study was done with a high frequency linear transducer, so unless resources don’t allow, that’s your probe of choice.
Thoracic