Role of Transesophageal Echocardiography in Blunt Chest Trauma

Abstract

Patients who suffer blunt chest trauma are at risk for injury to the heart, and the thoracic aorta and its branch vessels. Unrecognized injury to the heart or aorta may lead to life threatening complications. Therefore, the physician caring for the trauma patient must be able to accurately and rapidly diagnose cardiac and thoracic aortic injury. Transesophageal echocardiography is an ideal tool to diagnose cardiac and aortic injury in the patient with blunt chest trauma because it provides high quality images of the heart and thoracic aorta and can safely and rapidly be performed in the emergency department, operating suite or intensive care unit. To utilize transesophageal echocardiography most effectively, the echocardiographer must be familiar with the indications, limitations, and piffalls of transesophageal echocardiography in patients with blunt chesttrauma. This review describes the role of transesophageal echocardiography in evaluating the patient with blunt chest trauma for cardiac, thoracic aortic, and mediastinal injury.