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Intraoperative transoesophageal echocardiography is increasingly used for guiding intraoperative management decisions during non-cardiac surgery. Transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) equipment and training is becoming more available to anaesthetists, and its point-of-care application may facilitate real-time haemodynamic management and preoperative screening.

We conducted an audit of transthoracic and transoesophageal echocardiograms, performed by an anaesthetist at a tertiary referral centre over a 9-month period, to identify the effect of echocardiography on clinical decision-making in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery. The indications for echocardiography followed published guidelines.

Echocardiographic examinations of 97 patients included 87 transthoracic, and 14 transoesophageal studies. Of 36 …