Transesophageal echocardiography during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR-TeE)

Abstract

Background: To take full advantage of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), we propose a flowchart derived from representative cases. Methods and Results: TEE was used in patients requiring CPR to obtain information potentially helpful for rescue. TEE navigated the CPR procedures (navigation TEE), identified the possible cause of arrest (focus TEE), and optimized treatment while checking for pitfalls (secure TEE). In addition, TEE corrected prehospital misdiagnoses and detected new complications caused by CPR. Conclusions: TEE provides valuable information without interrupting CPR procedures. It is hoped that our flowchart may facilitate goal-directed, efficient assessment.