Usefulness of echocardiography in the assessment of internal medicine inpatients - An analysis according to ACC/AHA guidelines

Background. We aimed to analyze the importance of echocardiography in our I nternal Medicine Institute, We think that this technique could have a large impact in the evaluation of the internistic inpatient who is usually affec ted by multiple pathological problems. Methods. Analysis was performed according to the ACC/AHA guidelines for the application of echocardiography, The data of 1211 consecutive inpatients w ere analyzed, Results. Sixty-three per cent of all the patients had two or more associate d diseases. Moreover, patients in whom echocardiography could be considered appropriate or useful were 67%. Our results point out that echocardiograph ic examination is generally a technique of great importance for the evaluat ion of internistic inpatients, Conclusions. This study could represent a useful background for a cost/bene fit analysis that should evaluate the utility of a specifically-dedicated e chocardiographic laboratory for optimal, autonomous management of internal medicine inpatients.