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Hypovolemic shock

In critical care, hypovolemic shock is a life-threatening condition resulting from severe fluid or blood loss, leading to inadequate tissue perfusion and oxygen delivery. Common causes include hemorrhage, severe dehydration, or burns. Early recognition and aggressive fluid resuscitation are crucial for patient survival. Medical ultrasound plays a vital role in rapidly identifying the source of fluid loss, such as internal bleeding, or assessing cardiac function in unstable patients.

Ultrasound helps guide fluid resuscitation and monitor treatment effectiveness in hypovolemic shock. Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) allows clinicians to quickly assess for free fluid in abdominal or thoracic cavities, evaluate the inferior vena cava (IVC) for volume status, and assess cardiac contractility. This non-invasive imaging is essential for rapid diagnosis and management in critical care, improving outcomes for patients with hypovolemic shock.

Clinical Author

Bruno Vargas is originally from Mexico City. He first trained as an Emergency Medical Technician at la Universidad Panamericana (UP) before starting medical school at la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City. Later he did his social service year in the Sierra Madre of Chiapas with Partners in Health Mexico/Compañeros en Salud (CES) in 2019, where he was trained in Global Health, social medicine, and introduced to Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS). At that moment while working in a resource-limited setting he became passionate about POCUS. He graduated as a general practitioner, and afterward stayed with CES during the pandemic as part of the COVID-19 task force, training community healthcare workers and “pasantes” (first-year doctors doing their year of social service). He finished the Ultrasound Leadership Academy (ULA) fellowship and has started a POCUS training program at his site with midwives, nurses, doctors, and trainees from these areas. He is currently doing a Global Health Fellowship with HEAL as a site fellow in Chiapas with CES. He has committed to a lifelong career in global health providing healthcare access to the most marginalized communities. He has a profound respect and admiration for nature and loves any kind of outdoor activities, especially bicycling, high mountain, and scuba-diving.

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