Biplane and multiplane transesophageal echocardiography: evaluation of congenital heart disease

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Pediatric Cardiology

Background:

• Congenital heart disease (CHD) presents diagnostic challenges.
• Echocardiography is a key imaging modality for CHD.
• Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) offers advanced diagnostic capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of TEE in diagnosing congenital heart disease across different patient populations and settings.
• To delineate the specific applications of TEE in adult and pediatric CHD.
• To highlight TEE's role in perioperative assessment of CHD.

Main Methods:

• Review of TEE applications in congenital heart disease diagnosis.
• Comparison of TEE with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for CHD assessment.
• Analysis of TEE's role in inpatient versus outpatient settings.

Main Results:

• TEE significantly enhances diagnostic power for CHD, especially in adults.
• Outpatient TEE is highly valuable for adult CHD assessment.
• TEE is crucial for perioperative evaluation of CHD in all age groups within critical care settings.
• TTE is sufficient for most pediatric CHD diagnoses outside acute care.

Conclusions:

• TEE is an indispensable tool for complex congenital heart disease diagnosis and management.
• The application of TEE varies by patient age and clinical setting.
• TEE provides critical anatomic and functional insights for preoperative and postoperative congenital cardiac anomalies.