Multimodal Role of POCUS in Sepsis

• Dr. Amr Abouelela — Consultant Intensivist at Al Qassimi Hospital, EHS, Sharjah, and a former Professor of Critical Care Medicine at Alexandria University

Critical Care

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) provides rapid bedside assessment of patients with suspected sepsis and can support timely diagnosis, hemodynamic evaluation, and treatment decisions. A multimodal approach combines lung, cardiac, abdominal, vascular, and focused organ assessment to identify potential infection sources and complications. Cardiac POCUS can evaluate ventricular function, volume status, and gross pericardial abnormalities, while lung ultrasound helps detect pulmonary edema, consolidation, or pleural effusion. Abdominal and vascular scanning can support evaluation for biliary, urinary, or vascular pathology. Serial examinations can help assess response to fluids and vasoactive therapy and detect evolving complications. Integrating POCUS with clinical findings, laboratory results, and microbiological data can improve bedside decision-making while avoiding reliance on ultrasound findings alone.