Chest
Clinical Investigations: Cardiology/ImagingThe Usefulness of Transesophageal Echocardiography in Diagnosing Cardiac Contusions
Section snippets
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the usefulness of transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing cardiac contusions at Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center. Our hospital is a level 1 trauma center with approximately 1,770 admissions each year, of which approximately 30% have sustained trauma to the chest. During the period from July 1990 to September 1992, 81 transesophageal echocardiograms were performed on patients treated in the trauma ICU or in the trauma admitting area of the emergency
RESULTS
Table 1 shows the demographic profile for each patient, including age, race, and sex. The average age was 41 years, with 82% white and 86% men. Among these patients, 55% were younger than 40 years old, and 68% were younger than 55 years old.
At our institution, if cardiac contusion is considered, a transthoracic echocardiogram is ordered. If windows are obtainable on the chest wall, this study is performed. If the study is a technically limited study, then a transesophageal echocardiogram is
DISCUSSION
It has long been recognized that approximately 15% of victims of fatal chest trauma have myocardial contusions demonstrated at autopsy.22 Despite extensive clinical experience and experimental work, there is still controversy about definitive criteria for this clinical diagnosis. There is a need for a readily available “noninvasive,” sensitive, and specific diagnostic test that can prognosticate this condition. We undertook this study to determine if transesophageal echocardiography may fulfill
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Acknowledgments go to Christine M. Dalton for her secretarial assistance in preparing this manuscript and Michele Weiss, RDCS, for her technical assistance.
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