Timing of Patient Management Decisions Relative to Echocardiography in Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

In patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), endocarditis evaluation includes transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and, in patients at increased risk of endocarditis, subsequent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Whether performing TTE before TEE influences clinicians' decision making has not been well studied in patients deemed to warrant TEE.

Methods

In this retrospective case series, we studied clinician behavior at a large Veterans Affairs medical center regarding the care of adult patients diagnosed with SAB who completed both TTE and TEE (n = 206 episodes of SAB). The timing of key patient management decisions was compared to the timing of the patient's TTE and TEE. It was inferred whether each management decision could have be

SUBMITTER: Aldred B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9297306 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature