The Use of Transesophageal Echocardiography in the Evaluation of Chest Trauma

Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) has been used over the last 10 years (1982–1992) to study the heart and thoracic aorta. We set out to evaluate the diagnostic applications of TEE in patients with thoracic trauma. Specifically, TEE was performed on patients suspected of having either a cardiac contusion or an injury of the thoracic aorta. Fifty-eight patients admitted with thoracic trauma underwent TEE. Fifty of those patients suspected of...