NCT02415244

Transesophageal Echocardiography (TEE): A Novel Technique for Spinal Cord Imaging

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 75 (actual)
• Sponsor: Kenichi Ueda · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: —
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of this prospective observational study is to assess whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) can be used to identify the structures within the vertebral foramen of the spinal column and to determine the range of spinal segments which can be visualized.

Detailed description

The aim of this prospective observational study is to assess whether transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) can be used to identify the structures within the vertebral foramen of the spinal column and to determine the range of spinal segments which can be visualized. Data will be collected from both pediatric and adult patients undergoing cardiothoracic and interventional cardiac surgeries under general anesthesia. Because use of TEE is a standard surgical procedure and because TEE will already be in place to visualize the heart, no additional processes will be required to collect data, minimizing patient risk. TEE will be monitored and controlled by a trained anesthesiologist or TEE technician and visualization of the spinal cord will be confirmed. Real-time TEE images will then be captured and later graded by a trained sonographer as high, medium or low quality. Starting at the level of the tracheal bifurcation, corresponding to thoracic vertebral level T5 (Mirajalili 2012), the TEE probe will be advanced cranially to determine the spinal levels visualized above T5 and caudally in order to determine the spinal levels below T5 that can be seen on TEE. At each level seen on TEE, pictures will be taken for confirmation.

Conditions

• Spinal Cord
• Epidural

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
PROCEDURE	TEE	Spinal cord segments will be imaged using the TEE

Timeline

• Start date: 2012-07-01
• Primary completion: 2017-09-23
• Completion: 2017-09-23
• First posted: 2015-04-14
• Last updated: 2020-01-22
• Results posted: 2019-10-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States