Skip Navigation


BJA Advance Access originally published online on December 16, 2005
British Journal of Anaesthesia 2006 96(2):167-170; doi:10.1093/bja/aei303
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
96/2/167    most recent
aei303v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow E-letters: View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (2)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lin, T.
Right arrow Articles by Wang, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lin, T.
Right arrow Articles by Wang, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2005. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

CARDIOVASCULAR

Use of transoesophageal echocardiography during cardiac arrest in patients undergoing elective non-cardiac surgery

T. Lin1, Y. Chen2, C. Lu1 and M. Wang3,*

1 Department of Anesthesia, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. 2 Department of Surgery and 3 Department of Anesthesiology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan

* Corresponding author: Department of Anesthesiology, National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, 7 Chung Shan South Road, Taipei, Taiwan 100. E-mail: canon{at}ha.mc.ntu.edu.tw

Background. Sudden unexpected intraoperative cardiac arrests in patients undergoing elective non-cardiac operations are rare but catastrophic complications. The efficacy and utility of transoesophageal echocardiography (TOE) in the diagnosis and management of these events have not been reported earlier.

Methods. Unexpected intraoperative cardiac arrests in patients undergoing elective non-cardiac operations were prospectively studied during a 6 yr period. In these patients, TOE was performed within 5 min after initiation of external chest compression to identify the causes of the cardiac arrests.

Results. Among a total of 125 965 surgical operations, 10 patients who suffered intraoperative cardiac arrests were studied. The causes of the cardiac arrests including myocardial infarction in five, pulmonary embolism in two, and severe hypovolaemia and ventricular arrhythmia without specific pathology in the other two patients were correctly identified using TOE. Seven patients survived.

Conclusion. We conclude that TOE was useful in cardiac arrest during non-cardiac surgery for identifying or excluding pulmonary embolism and for directing investigations and treatment in those patients who had suffered myocardial infarction.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


E-letters:

Read all E-letters

TOE during cardiac arrest
Malcolm A Broom
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 10 Feb 2006 [Full text]
Reply
Ming-Jiuh Wang
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 6 Mar 2006 [Full text]
Appropriateness of TOE during cardiac arrest
saurabh nagpaul
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 13 Mar 2006 [Full text]
Reply
Ming-Jiuh Wang
British Journal of Anaesthesia, 14 Mar 2006 [Full text]

Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.