Is transesophageal echocardiography overused in the diagnosis of infective endocarditis?

Am J Cardiol. 2005 Jan 15;95(2):295-7. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2004.09.022.

Abstract

Because of its greater sensitivity, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is often misused as a screening tool for the exclusion of infective endocarditis (IE) in patients with small clinical probability of the disease. This study examined the role of using TEE exclusively at a Canadian tertiary care center for the diagnosis of IE and determined which clinical variables are most often associated with positive or negative echocardiographic results supporting or refuting the diagnosis.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Alberta / epidemiology
  • Echocardiography, Transesophageal / methods
  • Echocardiography, Transesophageal / statistics & numerical data*
  • Endocarditis, Bacterial / diagnostic imaging*
  • Endocarditis, Bacterial / epidemiology*
  • Endocarditis, Bacterial / microbiology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Predictive Value of Tests
  • Unnecessary Procedures / statistics & numerical data*