Is transesophageal echocardiography overused in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis?
Because of its greater sensitivity, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is often misused as a screening tool for the exclusion of infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with small clinical probability of the disease. This study examined the role of using TEE exclusively at a Canadian tertiary care center for the diagnosis of IE and determined which clinical variables are most often associated with positive or negative echocardiographic results supporting or refuting the diagnosis.
Thangaroopan
Molly
M
Division of Cardiology, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Choy
Jonathan B
JB
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*