Why the study?
Does a new high-resolution transesophageal echocardiography probe provide clear images and accurate Doppler estimates in infants and children undergoing surgical repair of congenital heart disease?
Does a new high-resolution transesophageal echocardiography probe provide clear images and accurate Doppler estimates in infants and children undergoing surgical repair of congenital heart disease?
A new 48-element transesophageal echocardiography probe provides high-quality intraoperative imaging and continuous-wave Doppler capabilities in pediatric patients undergoing congenital heart surgery.
May facilitate detailed intraoperative imaging in small infants; leaves open validation of safety and utility in larger cohorts.
A transesophageal probe recently has been developed for use in pediatric patients, which incorporates 48 rather than 26 elements, and permits continuous-wave Doppler, and pulsed and color Doppler flow modalities. This probe potentially offers significantly enhanced image quality. To evaluate its capabilities, we tested the probe intraoperatively in 53 infants and children undergoing surgical repair of congenital heart disease, and found that clear echocardiographic images with good detail were provided, including the ability to image coronary arteries in patients weighing as little as 2.7 kg. Imaging detail transesophageally is commensurate with the performance of this system from a transthoracic route. This probe also has the capacity for accurate estimates of high velocity jets using continuous-wave Doppler, which is a relatively new development.
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Muhiudeen et al. (1993) studied this question.