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. 2026 Sep 22;13:1919161. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2026.1919161

Figure 2.

Two-row infographic showing ultrasound modules for emergency department sepsis assessment. Four blue boxes in the upper row cover lung and pleura, biliary scanning, kidneys and bladder, and soft tissues, with example findings such as consolidation, gallstones, hydronephrosis, and abscess. In the lower row, three green boxes cover focused cardiac assessment, passive leg raising with left ventricular outflow tract velocity-time integral measurement, and serial lung ultrasound. An orange box identifies venous Doppler and venous excess ultrasound grading as advanced assessments for selected patients. An escalation statement below advises further imaging or specialist consultation when ultrasound is inconclusive and clinical concern persists.

Core and advanced POCUS domains in the proposed ED sepsis framework. Source-oriented and physiology-guided core modules are trigger-based and decision-linked; venous Doppler/VExUS is retained as an optional advanced assessment for selected patients with adequate expertise and image quality. ED, emergency department; FoCUS, focused cardiac ultrasound; LUS, lung ultrasound; LV, left ventricle; LVOT, left ventricular outflow tract; PLR, passive leg raise; POCUS, point-of-care ultrasound; RV, right ventricle; VExUS, venous excess ultrasound; VTI, velocity-time integral.