[Intraoperative echocardiography guidelines in Brazil - Is it time for a task force?]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Brazilian Society of Anesthesiology (SBA) has been promoting continuing education in intraoperative echocardiography in Brazil since 2011, with the implementation of an Intraoperative Echocardiography Course (ETI/SBA). Although echocardiography is a reality of anesthesiology practice in Brazil, we still do not have an established policy on the area of expertise, job training, and recognition by the other societies, such as the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (SBC). The aim of this paper is to contextualize the anesthesiology in the intraoperative echocardiography in Brazil and promote a discussion on the formation of a Task Force along with the SBC to begin drawing up the Brazilian Guidelines on Intraoperative Echocardiography.

CASE REPORT: The first reports on the involvement of anesthesiology in Brazil with intraoperative echocardiography are from the 80s and 90s. However, this technique implementation in routine practice in the Brazilian anesthesiology occurred in 2011 with the formation of the ETI/SBA Course. Since then, the SBA has been promoting a continuing education of its members and disseminating the ETI/SBA Course throughout Brazil. More than 200 associates have taken this course, and the vast majority works with cardiac surgery.

CONCLUSION: Intraoperative echocardiography is a reality in the practice of the Brazilian anesthesiology, and the ETI/SBA Course has been promoting its continuing education, however, we still do not have a grounded guideline. As occurred in major worldwide centers, we have to promote a Task Force along with the SBC in order to begin the drawing up of the Brazilian Guidelines on Intraoperative Echocardiography.