title: Transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography: a systematic review of feasibility and impact on diagnosis, management and outcome after cardiac surgery.
abstract: Transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography are increasingly used as tools to improve clinical assessment following cardiac surgery. However, most physicians are not trained in echocardiography, and there is no widespread agreement on the feasibility, indications or effect on outcome of transthoracic or transoesophageal echocardiography for patients after cardiac surgery. We performed a systematic review of electronic databases for focused transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography after cardiac surgery which revealed 15 full-text articles. They consistently reported that echocardiography is feasible, whether performed by a novice or expert, and frequently resulted in important changes in diagnosis of cardiac abnormalities and their management. However, most were observational studies and there were no well-designed trials investigating the impact of echocardiography on outcome. We conclude that both transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiography are useful following cardiac surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. johan.heiberg@clin.au.dk.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Heiberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiotherapy, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: El-Ansary
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Royse
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Royse
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, King Fahad Cardiac Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alsaddique
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesia and Pain Management, Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Canty
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D017548:Echocardiography, Transesophageal / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: cardiothoracic surgery; diagnosis; lung ultrasound; management; transoesophageal echocardiography; transthoracic echocardiography; ultrasonography