Association of Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography and Clinical Outcomes After Open Cardiac Valve or Aortic Surgery

Abstract

Nearly 150,000 patients undergo open cardiac valve or aortic surgery each year in the US. Intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is used frequently during cardiac surgery, but there is a lack of evidence associating TEE use to improved clinical outcomes. This matched, retrospective cohort study used national registry data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeon (STS), Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) between 2011–2019 to compare clinical outcomes among patients undergoing cardiac valve or aortic surgery with vs without intraoperative TEE. Statistical analyses consisted of multiple matched comparisons (including within-hospital and within-surgeon matches), a negative control outcome analysis, and sensitivity analyses.