For a study, researchers looked into the relationship between early echocardiography performed by a treating physician certified in critical care ultrasound and mortality in ICU patients. The FROG-ICU cohort was a multicenter study examining critically ill patients’ outcomes. During the first 3 days, 372 of the 1,359 patients admitted to centers with echocardiography underwent echocardiography. When compared to patients admitted for other reasons, 47.4% of ICU patients admitted for the cardiac disease had the lowest left ventricular ejection fraction, 40 [31–58]%, and the lowest cardiac output of 4.2 [3.2–5.7] L/min (P<0.001). About 1-year mortality was 36.8% in patients with echocardiography and 39.9% in patients without [HR 0.92 (95% CI 0.75–1.11)]. After multivariable Cox regression analysis, this result was confirmed [HR 0.88 (95% CI 0.71–1.08)]. According to subgroup analyses, patients admitted to the ICU for cardiac disease managed with echocardiography had a lower risk of 1-year mortality [HR 0.65 (95% CI 0.43–0.98)]. In ICU patients, early echocardiography by treating physicians was not associated with short- or long-term survival. Early echocardiography improved survival in ICU patients admitted for cardiac disease in subgroups.
Source:www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0883944122000399
