Original articleMajor Complications Related to the Use of Transesophageal Echocardiography in Cardiac Surgery
Section snippets
Methods
This study was conducted in Victoria, the second largest state in Australia, with a population of 5 million people. The study sample was drawn from a database maintained by the Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ASCTS) from July 1, 2001, until June 30, 2007. The database was searched to identify all patients who underwent a gastroscopy, laparotomy, or thoracotomy subsequent to their cardiac surgery. The medical records of all such patients (434 cases) were then examined in
Results
The ASCTS database included TEE between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2007. For the period of July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2005, the rate of TEE use was unknown. From July 1, 2005, to June 30, 2007, 89.9% of patients had TEE during cardiac surgery. The authors extrapolated a 88.9% rate of TEE use to the 11,719 patients who underwent cardiac surgery from July 1, 2001, to June 30, 2005. The authors think that this number of 10,418 patients that was used to calculate the overall incidence of major TEE
Discussion
The authors examined the incidence of esophageal and gastric tears and perforations associated with TEE during cardiac surgery in more than 15,000 patients at 6 Australian public (government) hospitals. The overall incidence of TEE-associated injury was 9 per 10,000 patients, and mortality was 2/10,000. Furthermore, it was found that women and older patients were at a significantly greater risk of TEE-associated injury.
Although there have been many case reports,6 there have been only a few
Acknowledgment
The ASCTS Cardiac Surgery Database is an initiative of the ASCTS and is funded by the Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia. The VCCAMM is funded by the Department of Human Services, Victoria, Australia.
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