TRANSESOPHAGEAL VS. TRANSTHORACIC ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY.

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is newer, more invasive, and more costly than transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). The appropriate use of these two imaging modalities is now being evaluated. Although TEE seems to be more sensitive for detecting intracardiac and pericardial pathology, it remains to be determined whether the increased sensitivity translates into significant clinical benefits.

This study from the Mayo Clinic compared TEE and TTE performed over a two-year period in 80 patients with noninfectious cardiac masses. The "gold standard" for diagnosis was surgical or postmortem pathology. Two patients with right atrial tumors and 6 patients with pericardial masses were misdiagnosed with TTE but correctly identified with TEE.

In …