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Review
. 2025 Nov;40(11):1133-1142.
doi: 10.1177/08850666241272065. Epub 2025 Mar 17.

Resuscitative Transesophageal Echocardiography in Critical Care

Felipe Teran  1 , Taylor Diederich  2 , Clark G Owyang  1   3 , Jennifer A Stancati  4 , David M Dudzinski  5 , Rohan Panchamia  6 , Arif Hussain  7 , Phillip Andrus  8 , Gabriele Via  9
Affiliations
Review

Resuscitative Transesophageal Echocardiography in Critical Care

Felipe Teran et al. J Intensive Care Med. 2025 Nov.

Abstract

The use of focused critical care echocardiography, diagnostic modality aimed to provide immediate and actionable information, represents a core competency of contemporary intensive care medicine. Resuscitative transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a focused, goal-directed examination performed at the point of care, for the rapid evaluation of critically ill patients in whom transthoracic images are either logistically untenable, inadequate, or unobtainable. Some of the applications of TEE in the management of critically ill patients include the evaluation of patients in shock and cardiac arrest, the assessment of trauma patients, and the guidance of several endovascular procedures. Due to the indwelling nature of the transducer, TEE can provide consistently high-quality images and allows for continuous monitoring during hemodynamic interventions, making it ideally suited for the evaluation of critically ill patients. In this article, we review the evolving landscape of resuscitative TEE, discuss the rationale, supporting evidence, safety, and training for the use of this modality in critical care settings. We address the transdisciplinary evolution of TEE and the practical aspects of its implementation in emergency and critical care settings.

Keywords: cardiac arrest; focused cardiac ultrasound; point-of-care; resuscitation; transesophageal echocardiography; ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Clinical applications of resuscitative TEE across the emergency, intensive care, and operative settings.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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