26, 21, 22
Literature search of Medline and EMBase yielding 55 publications describing 277 patients in whom transoesophageal echocardiography was used during cardiac arrest resuscitation, across operating rooms, emergency departments and other settings.
Conclusions, quoted as the authors state them: in many cases TEE changed the direction of the resuscitation; IT IS UNCLEAR WHETHER IT CHANGED PATIENT-ORIENTED OUTCOMES SUCH AS NEUROLOGICALLY INTACT SURVIVAL; few adverse events related to the technique have been documented; and there is growing evidence that physicians can learn to use TEE during resuscitations and apply the findings to clinical decisions. The review also records a study demonstrating that transthoracic imaging during cardiac arrest can lengthen pulse-check duration beyond the 10 seconds recommended by the resuscitation councils.
Why it matters to this book: it is the honest version of the imaging-in-arrest claim. The mechanical advantage (no compression pause) is a property of the technique; the outcome claim is unsupported. Chapter 26 §26.14 pairs it with Chapter 19's 2 to 2.5% survival loss per minute of low flow, which is what prices a lengthened pulse check.
Read as indexed full-text passages. DOI not independently resolved.