Echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary artery occlusion pressure in ventilated patients: a transoesophageal study

Background Non-invasive evaluation of left ventricular filling pressure has been scarcely studied in critically ill patients. Accordingly, we prospectively assessed the ability of transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) Doppler to predict an invasive pulmonary artery occlusion pressure (PAOP) ≤ 18 mmHg in ventilated patients.