Safety of Transesophageal Echocardiography in Acute Stroke Patients
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24950/rspmi.958Keywords:
Echocardiography, Transesophageal, Risk Assessment, Safety Management, StrokeAbstract
Introduction: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a method increasingly used in cardiology and it is considered semi-invasive and very safe. Recommendations on the management of acute stroke
consider TEE as an essential exam in same patients, emphasizing the increasing use of TEE in a wider spectrum of patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a single-center experience of the safety of TEE in a special population of patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Methods: We included 171 adult patients (mean age 62.8 years) who underwent TEE because of the management of acute ischemic
stroke. We determined complications of TEE: examination impossible to perform, pulmonary, cardiac and bleeding complications, trauma/ perforation and others (odynophagia, dental injury and death).
Results: Of the 171 patients, 2.9% had minor complications: 2 cases of patient refusal, 2 cases of failure to successfully insert the
TEE probe and 1 case of odynophagia. Major procedural complications were noted in one case (0.6%): an esophageal perforation.
Discussion and Conclusion: In our study, TEE had one major complication, an esophageal perforation, but no deaths occurred.
TEE is a safe procedure, even in acute stroke patients.
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