Study examines use of transthoracic echocardiography

A study of the use of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) at an academic medical center suggests that although 9 in 10 of the procedures were appropriate under 2011 appropriate use criteria, less than 1 in 3 of the TTEs resulted in an active change in care, according to a report of the research by Susan Matulevicius, M.D., and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

The researchers, who studied 535 patients undergoing TTE, found that, overall, 31.8 percent of TTEs resulted in an active change in care; 46.9 percent resulted in a continuation of current care; and 21.3 percent prompted no change in care, according to the results.

"The low rate of active change in care (31.8 percent) among TTEs mostly classified as appropriate (91.8 percent) highlights the need for a better method to optimize TTE utilization to use limited health care resources efficiently while providing high-quality care," the study concludes.