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European Journal of Echocardiography 2004 5(6):404; doi:10.1016/j.euje.2004.10.004
© 2004 by European Society of Cardiology
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Copyright © 2004, The European Society of Cardiology

The anesthesiologist's view

M. Cahalan

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the letter of Dr. Sloth. I did not attend Euroecho 2003, but I have been following with great interest the development of hand-carried ultrasound devices. Clearly, these devices will have an increasingly important role in the practice of medicine. Already the published literature documents that non-echocardiographers can use them to assess ventricular size and function, valvular function, and pericardial effusions. In reviewing these studies, I'm reminded of the early days of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) when reports of exciting new applications prompted serious concerns regarding potential misinterpretations, over usage and lack of training. One key concept that helped guide the appropriate development of TEE was expressed in the 1996 Guidelines for perioperative TEE: anesthesiologists with basic training in perioperative TEE "should be able to use TEE for indications that lie within the customary practice of anesthesiology."1 This concept that physicians and other medical professionals should explore new technologies to more effectively address their customary responsibilities is a most appropriate paradigm. Electrocardiography and pulmonary artery catetherization are two other technologies incorporated into perioperative medicine in this fashion. The editorial process and evidence-based guidelines are the major safeguards that help insure that enthusiasm for new technology or financial gain does not corrupt the final results. Thus, I am confident that hand-carried ultrasound devices will find many appropriate applications in many different practices.


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  1. Practice guidelines for perioperative transesohageal echocardiography. A report by the American Society of Anesthesiologists and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists Task Force on Transesophageal Echocardiography. Anesthesiology (1996) 84:986–1006.[CrossRef][Web of Science][Medline]

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This Article
Right arrow Extract Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
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Right arrow Articles by Cahalan, M.
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