Conventional physical examination extended by bedside ultrasound: a new paradigm in nephrological practice

ABSTRACT Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) has been gaining momentum as an extension to physical examination in several specialties. In nephrology, POCUS has generally been used in a restricted way in urinary tract evaluation. We report the case of a patient with nephrotic syndrome secondary to amyloidosis, previously diagnosed by renal biopsy, who was oligosymptomatic when seen the an outpatient clinic, where the POCUS, focused on the heart, lung and abdomen, revealed anasarca, pulmonary congestion and cardiac changes suggestive of cardiac amyloidosis. After evaluation by the cardiology and hematology services, the diagnosis of AL amyloidosis with cardiac involvement was confirmed. This case emphasizes the importance of extending the physical examination using POCUS, which, ideally, should not be restricted to the urinary tract.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Jornal Brasileiro De Nefrologia

• Publication date

  2020-07-08

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1590/2175-8239-JBN-2020-0069PMID 32645130PMCID 8428643
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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