Wang Lei, Zhang Jing, Zheng Shao-Ping, He Lin, Wang Jing, Wang Xin-Fang, Xie Ming-Xing
Department of Ultrasound, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430022, China.
J Huazhong Univ Sci Technolog Med Sci. 2017 Oct;37(5):782-786. doi: 10.1007/s11596-017-1805-x. Epub 2017 Oct 20.
The intubation of conventional transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) probes into patients causes serious esophagus irritation, and thus the use of TEE probes in pediatric practice is limited. In this study, we aimed at the development of a special probe which could be inserted through the nasopharyngeal cavity into the esophagus to obtain the same high-quality echocardiography images as those obtained by conventional TEE and improve patients' experience. During the examination, the patients felt relaxed for a longer time and cooperated with the sonographers in the process of cardiac catheterization conducted in the surgery room or the intensive care unit (ICU), resulting in improved accuracy of the diagnosis and timely administration of appropriate treatment. Two years ago, Prof. Xin-fang WANG put theories into practice by inserting the probe through the nasal cavity and pharynx into the esophagus of volunteers to successfully detect the heart and great vessels at the retrocardiac space. Later, Prof. Ming-xing XIE performed the transnasal TEE examination in 12 atrial septal defect (ASD) patients and proved the safety and reliability of this method, which could become a new way for clinical diagnosis and treatment.
传统经食管超声心动图（TEE）探头插入患者体内会引起严重的食管刺激，因此TEE探头在儿科实践中的应用受到限制。在本研究中，我们旨在开发一种特殊探头，该探头可通过鼻咽腔插入食管，以获得与传统TEE相同的高质量超声心动图图像，并改善患者体验。在检查过程中，患者在较长时间内感到放松，并在手术室或重症监护病房（ICU）进行心导管检查过程中与超声科医生配合，从而提高了诊断准确性并及时给予适当治疗。两年前，王新房教授将理论付诸实践，通过鼻腔和咽部将探头插入志愿者食管，成功检测到心后间隙的心脏和大血管。后来，谢明星教授对12例房间隔缺损（ASD）患者进行了经鼻TEE检查，证明了该方法的安全性和可靠性，这可能成为临床诊断和治疗的一种新方法。
