Intraoperative Echocardiography: Support for Decision Making in Cardiac Surgery (original) (raw)
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When and How to Use Intraoperative Echocardiography
Acc Current Journal Review, 1998
mean age 49) with angina-like chest pain and angiographically normal coronary arteries underwent exercise treadmill testing, radionuclide angiography at rest and during exercise, thallium stress testing and transesophageal dobutamine stress echocardiography. The results of exercise treadmill testing and stress echocardiography were compared with those obtained in 26 normal control subjects (19 men and 7 women). Results: Abnormalities consistent with myocardial ischemia were noted in 31% of the patients during exercise treadmill testing, in 16% during exercise radionuclide angiography and in 18% during thallium stress testing. The findings of the radionuclide studies were not concordant with one another and were not related to the presence of repolarization changes during exercise testing. During infusion of dobutamine, chest pain developed in 59 patients (84%) and in none of the control subjects; repolarization changes occurred in 22 patients (34%) and in 2 control subjects (8%). None of the patients or the control subjects developed regional wall motion abnormalities with dobutamine. The quantitative myocardial contractile response to dobutamine was similar in patients and control subjects, with an 80% power to detect a 25% difference in systolic wall thickening at the maximal dose of dobutamine. Conclusions: There was no agreement in the results of noninvasive tests in our patients. Despite the frequent provocation of chest pain and electrocardiographic abnormalities with dobutamine, the patients demonstrated a quantitatively normal myocardial contractile response without development of wall motion abnormalities. These observations strongly suggest that myocardial ischemia is not the cause of chest pain in patients with a normal coronary arteriogram.
Impact of routine use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography during cardiac surgery
Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie, 2000
Purpose: To determine the relative impact of each category-based TEE indication according to the ASA guidelines. Methods: In 851 patients undergoing cardiac surgery, TEE clinical indications were classified as category I or II according to the ASA guidelines. Category I indications are patients in which TEE is considered useful and category II are those where TEE is potentially useful but indications are less clear. All TEE examinations were reviewed by two anesthesiologists with advanced training in TEE. For each patient, the clinical impact of TEE in the clinical management was assessed using five criteria: 1) change of medical therapy; 2) change in the surgical procedure; 3) confirmation of a suspected diagnosis; 4) positioning of an intravascular device, and 5) substitute to a pulmonary artery catheter (PAC).
The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 2008
Backgound: The use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiogram in patients with infective endocarditis is usually reserved for cases of inadequate preoperative testing or suspected extension to perivalvular tissue. Objectives: To explore the impact of routine intraoperative TEE in patients with infective endocarditis. Methods: The impact of intraoperative TEE on the operative plan, anatomic-physiologic results, and hemodynamic assessment or de-airing was analyzed in 59 patients (38 males, 21 females, mean age 57.7 ± 16.8 years, range 20-82) operated for active infective endocarditis over 56 months. Results: Immediate pre-pump echocardiography was available in 52 operations (86.7%), and changed the operative plan in 6 of them (11.5%). Immediate post-pump study was available in 59 patients (98.3%) and accounted for second pump-run in 6 (10.2%): perivalvular leak (3 cases), and immobilized leaflet, significant mitral regurgitation following vegetectomy, and failing right ventricle requiring addition of vein graft (1 case each). Prolonged de-airing was necessary in 6 patients (10.2%). In 5 patients (8.5%) the postoperative study aided in the evaluation and treatment of difficult weaning from the cardiopulmonary bypass pump. In 21 patients (35.6%) the application of intraoperative TEE affected at least one of the four pre-specified parameters. Conclusions: Intraoperative TEE has an important role in surgery for infective endocarditis and should be routinely implemented.
Practice Guidelines for Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography
Anesthesiology, 2010
P RACTICE Guidelines are systematically developed recommendations that assist the practitioner and the patient in making decisions about health care. These recommendations may be adopted, modified, or rejected according to clinical needs and constraints and are not intended to replace local institutional policies. In addition, Practice Guidelines developed by the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) are not intended as standards or absolute requirements, and their use cannot guarantee any specific outcome. Practice Guidelines are subject to revision as warranted by the evolution of medical knowledge, technology, and practice. They provide basic recommendations that are supported by a synthesis and analysis of the current literature, expert and practitioner opinion, open forum commentary, and clinical feasibility data. This update includes data published since the Practice Guidelines for Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography were adopted by the ASA and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists in 1995 and published in 1996. 1 Methodology Definition of Perioperative Transesophageal Echocardiography For these Guidelines, perioperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) refers to TEE performed on surgical patients before, during, or immediately after surgery, including the critical care setting. Evidence of effectiveness is discussed relative to specific settings where perioperative TEE is customarily used (e.g., cardiac surgery, noncardiac surgery, and critical care). Purposes of the Guidelines The purposes of these Guidelines are (1) to assist the physician in determining the appropriate application of TEE and (2) to improve the outcomes of surgical patients by defining the utility of perioperative TEE based on the strength of supporting evidence. Focus These Guidelines focus on the application of TEE in surgical patients and potential surgical patients in the setting of cardiac surgery, noncardiac surgery, and postoperative critical care. The Guidelines do not apply to the assessment of nonsurgical patients or to postdischarge follow-up assessment of surgical patients. The Task Force believes that physician proficiency in the use of perioperative TEE is of paramount importance due to the risk of adverse outcomes resulting from incorrect interpretation. The Guidelines do not address training, certification, credentialing, and quality assurance, which are addressed elsewhere. 2-5 Application These Guidelines are intended for anesthesiologists and other physicians (e.g., cardiologists, surgeons, and intensivists) who use TEE in the perioperative setting. Recommendations to perform TEE are not applicable when the proce
Echocardiography Before, During, and After Interventions
Journal of Interventional …, 2001
Before intervention, a detailed echocardiographic examination is mandatory for the decision whether this procedure will be necessary, possible, and safe. During intervention, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is needed for the continuous monitoring of the procedure, immediate assessment of results, and complications. TEE results in a signif cant reduction ofjluoroscopy time. After intervention, echocardiography provides information on long-term results and newly developed complications.
The Effect of Routine Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography on Surgical Management
Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia, 2007
Objective: To assess the effects of routine intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) on surgical management of patients undergoing all types of cardiac surgery. Design: Prospective, observational. Setting: A single-institution, clinical investigation, university-affiliated hospital. Participants: Two hundred eighty-three consecutive patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Interventions: A comprehensive TEE examination was performed in every patient after the induction of anesthesia. An appropriate surgical plan was then developed. A focused TEE examination was also performed at the conclusion of surgery. Whether or not TEE findings represented new information and whether or not this new information altered surgical management was documented. Measurements and Main Results: There were 106 new TEE findings in 87 patients (31%). Half of the new findings involved the mitral valve, and a quarter involved the tricuspid valve. The new TEE information altered surgical management 77 ways in 71 patients (25%). Half of the altered surgical managements involved the mitral valve, and a third involved the tricuspid valve. In 8 patients (3%), TEE information influenced decisions regarding use/nonuse of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). In 2 patients, TEE examination after the separation from CPB prompted reinitiation of CPB. In 1 patient, TEE examination after the induction of general anesthesia prompted cancellation of surgery. Conclusions: The routine use of TEE during cardiac surgery revealed new cardiac pathology in 1 of every 3 patients and led to altered surgical management in 1 of every 4 patients. TEE information also influenced decisions regarding use/nonuse of CPB in 3% of patients. Thus, the authors suggest that intraoperative TEE should be used routinely in all patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Journal of Perioperative Echocardiography, 2013
Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has become an important part of armamentarium for anesthesiologists in the management of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Many studies have demonstrated the safety and utility of TEE in cardiac surgery. With advances in hardware and software, easy availability of resources for learning and optimal understanding of image generation and interpretation, many new findings crop up in the operating room (OR) which may have been missed in preoperative transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), leading to necessary changes in planned surgical procedure. In our retrospective analysis of 726 cases in which TEE was performed over the last 1 year, changes in decision was made in 65 (8.9%) of cases. This included 42 unanticipated findings prior to cardiopulmonary bypass and 23 new findings after CPB, requiring revision in 15 cases. With the increasing use and further impending advances of TEE, the number of cases in which surgical decision will be altered may increase in near future.