TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 22. TEE in the Critical Care Unit A1 - Hudson, Jordan A1 - Shaw, Andrew A2 - Mathew, Joseph P. A2 - Swaminathan, Madhav A2 - Ayoub, Chakib M. PY - 2010 T2 - Clinical Manual and Review of Transesophageal Echocardiography, 2e AB - In addition to its role as an intraoperative diagnostic tool, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has been shown to be increasingly useful in the critical care setting. Patients in the critical care unit may have impaired cardiac function due to comorbidities or as a result of their critical illness. Indeed, cardiac dysfunction is one of the most common causes of hemodynamic instability and death in critically ill patients.1 Unlike many other diagnostic modalities available to the intensivist, TEE is minimally invasive and can be rapidly performed at the bedside. It can be used to provide valuable information on cardiac function, guide resuscitation and management, and diagnose a wide range of pathologies that may have a negative impact on the critically ill patient (Table 22–1). TEE was initially applied in the intensive care unit (ICU) for the postoperative evaluation of unstable cardiac surgery patients. However, TEE has also been shown to be beneficial in the general ICU setting, changing management in up to two-thirds of cases.2,3 In addition to the fact that the use of echocardiography has a positive impact on the management of patients in the general ICU,4 there is also evidence to support its therapeutic impact and its value in predicting mortality.5 Surprisingly, despite all these advantages, echocardiography is still not yet available in most ICUs, being largely limited by the availability of trained providers.5 SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessanesthesiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6919938 ER -