Transesophageal Echocardiography at the Golden Hour: Identification of Blunt Traumatic Aortic Injuries in the Emergency Department

Although surface sonography has become an essential diagnostic tool in the evaluation of trauma patients, important limitations of this modality include the evaluation of retroperitoneal hemorrhage and mediastinal pathology, such as blunt traumatic aortic injuries (BTAI). As in other emergency applications where surface sonography can't provide the information needed, focused transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) may represent a valuable diagnostic tool in the evaluation of hemodynamically unstable trauma patients with suspected thoracic pathology such as BTAI.
Source: The Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Ultrasound in Emergency Medicine Source Type: research