Abstract Introduction The devasting effects of COVID-19 have caused economic and health impacts worldwide. Anesthesiologists were one of the key professionals fighting the pandemic and have been highly exposed at their multiple sites of clinical practice. Thus, the importance of determining the nature of the infection in this population that provides care to SARS-CoV-2 patients. Method We conducted a cross-sectional study administering an online questionnaire to examine the demographic and epidemiological profile of these professionals in Brazil, and to describe the risk factors for viral infection during the pandemic. Results A total of 1,127 anesthesiologists answered the questionnaire, 55.2% were men, more than 90% with age below 60 years, with infection and reinfection rates of 14.7% and 0.5%, respectively, and 47.2% reported a significant income reduction. The predictors of COVID-19 contamination were practicing in operating rooms (OR = 0.42; 95% CI 0.23-0.78), direct contact with infected patients (OR = 5.74; 95% CI 3.05-11.57), indirect contact with infected patients (OR = 2.43; 95% CI 1.13-5.33), working in a pre-hospital setting (OR = 2.36; 95% CI 1.04-5.03), and presence of immunosuppression, except for cancer (OR = 4.89; 95% CI 1.16-19.01). Conclusion COVID-19 had enormous consequences on Brazilian anesthesiologists regarding sociodemographic aspects and contamination rates (5.57 times higher than in the general population). These are alarming and unprecedented findings for this professional group, as they reveal the considerable risk of infection and its independent predictor variables.

Resumo O uso da ecocardiografia transesofágica no intraoperatório em cirurgias valvulares é bem estabelecido de acordo com os guidelines mais recentes, assim como o seu uso no diagnóstico, manuseio e resgate de complicações perioperatórias. O objetivo deste relato de caso é ilustrar uma situação em que o seu uso no intraoperatório influenciou de maneira positiva o seu desfecho.

Abstract According to the most recent guidelines, the use of intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography in valvular surgeries is well established, as well as its use in the diagnosis, management, and rescue of perioperative complications. The aim of this case report is to illustrate a condition in which its intraoperative use had a positive influence on the outcome.