Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography for the Evaluation and Management of Diastolic Dysfunction in...

To characterize existing practice patterns for intraoperative evaluation and grading of diastolic dysfunction in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

A 14-question, multiple-choice survey of current practice for patients with diastolic dysfunction and the use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) to evaluate, grade, and monitor changes in diastolic function.

Online survey.

Members of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists.

None.

Of 515 respondents, there was a near-even spread between those based in an academic setting (53%) and those based in private practice (43%). Most respondents (81%) had completed training with certification in TEE. Most respondents (86%) currently modified their intraoperative management, at least some of the time, if they believed a patient was experiencing diastolic dysfunction, with 72% varying the nature of any modification according to the identified grade of diastolic dysfunction. Although 62% of respondents usually evaluated diastolic dysfunction in the pre-bypass period, only 59% of those evaluating diastolic dysfunction typically graded the dysfunction, with a variety of algorithms used for this purpose. The majority of respondents (62%) typically did not re-evaluate diastolic function using TEE in the post-bypass period. In 2 sample patients with Doppler data provided, there was marked variation in grading of diastolic dysfunction by respondents; this variation remained marked even within subgroups of respondents who typically used the same grading algorithm.

Marked variation currently exists in how intraoperative TEE is used to evaluate, grade, and monitor diastolic function during cardiac surgery. This suggests clinically important knowledge gaps that should be addressed.