Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is experiencing a golden age in emergency medicine and critical care. The speedy modality provides excellent diagnostic and decision-making capabilities, in addition to guidance during interventional procedures. It can be very useful in experienced hands, but new users must know common misdiagnoses.

While POCUS is covered in radiology curriculum and training programs, some of these mistakes or misdiagnoses can have drastic effects on patient outcomes. Conditions prone to obfuscation include pericardial effusion, pneumothorax and distinguishing between peritoneal fluid versus the stomach.

Follow the link below to read about these conditions and how to correctly spot them—without thinking it’s something else.