Feasibility and potential clinical utility of goal-directed transthoracic echocardiography performed by noncardiologist intensivists using a small hand-carried device (SonoHeart) in critically ill patients

Conclusion: After a brief formal training in using this handheld echocardiographic system in intensive care unit patients, surgical intensivists successfully performed and correctly interpreted a limited TTE in critically ill patients. Limited TTE provided new information and altered management in a significant number of patients. This study supports incorporating bedside goal-directed, limited TTE into intensivists' training programs.