The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) has published updated guidelines for the effective use of cardiac ultrasound enhancing agents in the March issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography.
The report, called "Clinical Applications of Ultrasonic Enhancing Agents in Echocardiography: 2018 American Society of Echocardiography Guidelines Update," updates the ASE's previous 2008 document and has been endorsed by 11 national echocardiographic and anesthesiology societies outside of the U.S. The group responsible for the updated guidelines was led by Dr. Thomas Porter of the University of Nebraska (JASE, March 2018, Vol. 31:3, pp. 241-274).
There have been several significant developments in the clinical application of ultrasound enhancing agents since the 2008 paper was released, Porter and colleagues wrote. But these agents are underused, in part because both patients and clinicians mistakenly associate them with CT and MRI agents, which use ionizing radiation and nephrotoxic ingredients.
"[The updated guidelines] will help both academic, cutting-edge practitioners and those in community settings to better utilize ultrasound enhancing agents by providing important information on the safety and efficacy of ultrasound enhancement in a wide variety of clinical situations," Porter said in a statement released by the society.
