Repeated Monitoring With Transthoracic Echocardiography and Lung Ultrasound After Cardiac Surgery: Feasibility and Impact on Diagnosis

摘要

Objectives: Cardiorespiratory complications are common after cardiac surgery and current monitors used to diagnose these are invasive and have limitations. Transthoracic echocardiography and lung ultrasound are noninvasive and frequently improve diagnosis in critically ill patients but have not been reported for routine postoperative monitoring after coronary, valve, and aortic surgery. The aim was to determine whether both repeated postoperative transthoracic echocardiography and lung ultrasound revealed or excluded clinically important cardiac and respiratory disorders compared to conventional monitoring and chest x-ray.