Summary
An ultrasonic probe placed in the oesophagus of anaesthetized patients was used to observe the velocity of the blood flow down the descending aorta. The operating principle of the technique was the Doppler shift of the reflection of a continuously emitted MHz beam of ultrasound. The human oesophagus took up to 15 minutes to accommodate to the presence of the probe in the oesophagus. Changes in the diastolic portion of the flow pattern were seen with small changes in peripheral resistance (produced by transiently obstructing a femoral popliteal by-pass graft) (Figure 1). Surgical stimuli also produced marked changes in the flow pattern (Figure 3) before arrhythmias occurred. Following a prolonged period of cardiac arrest the flow pattern was observed to return to normal very quickly (Figure 4).
It is suggested that the ultrasonic trans-oesophageal probe could play a useful role in patient monitoring in anaesthesia.
Résumé
Une sonde ultrasonique placée dans l’œsophage de patients anesthésiés servit à observer la vélocité du sang au niveau de l’aorte descendante. Le principe à la base de cette technique est la déviation Doppler de la réflexion d’un faisceau continu d’ultrasons, d’une fréquence de 8 MHz. L’œsophage humain prend jusqu’à 15 minutes pour s’habituer à la présence de cette sonde. Des altérations dans la portion diastolique du tracé de débit apparaissent à la suite de variations minimes de la résistance périphérique (produit par le clampage transitoire d’un greffon fémoro-poplité) (fig. 1). Les stimulations chirurgicales provoquent aussi des changements importants sur le tracé (fig. 3) précédant l’apparition d’arythmies. A la suite d’une période prolongée d’arrêt cardiaque, le tracé de débit a démontré un retour rapide vers la normale (fig. 4).
La sonde ultrasonique transoesophagienne pourrait jouer un rôle utile dans la surveillance des patients sous anesthésie.
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Tomlin, P.J., Duck, F.A. Transoesophageal aortic velography in man. Canad. Anaesth. Soc. J. 22, 561–571 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03013409
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03013409