Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine

Introduction: As the prevalence of patients with left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) presenting to the emergency department (ED) increases, clinicians must be aware of LVAD-associated infections.

Case Report: A well-appearing, 41-year-old male with history of heart failure status post prior-LVAD placement presented to the ED for swelling of his chest. What appeared initially as a superficial infection was further assessed with point-of-care ultrasound and found to represent a chest wall abscess involving the driveline, ultimately resulting in sternal osteomyelitis and bacteremia.

Conclusion: Point-of-care ultrasound should be considered an important tool in the initial assessment of potential LVAD-associated infection.