ESOTIP-TEE: Defining an Easy Landmark to Guide Correct Esophageal Probe Placement With Transesophageal Echocardiography (ESOTIP-TEE)

May 5, 2026 updated by: Simon Rauch, Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine
This prospective observational study aims to identify simple external anatomical landmarks that allow reliable prediction of correct esophageal probe insertion depth. Accurate placement in the lower third of the esophagus is essential for reliable core temperature monitoring. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) will be used as the reference standard to confirm correct probe position. The study will evaluate the agreement between landmark-based insertion depth and TEE-confirmed placement in adult ICU patients undergoing clinically indicated TEE.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Correct placement of esophageal probes is essential for accurate core temperature measurement. Misplacement can lead to clinically relevant errors. Existing placement strategies based on fixed insertion depths or patient height show limited accuracy.

This study investigates whether combinations of simple external anatomical landmarks can predict the correct insertion depth. During clinically indicated TEE, probe position will be verified, and multiple anatomical measurements will be recorded. Agreement between predicted and TEE-confirmed insertion depth will be assessed using Bland-Altman analysis and intraclass correlation coefficients.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Italy
    • BZ
      • Merano, BZ, Italy, 39012
        • Recruiting
        • F. Tappeiner Hospital
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult ICU patients undergoing clinically indicated transesophageal echocardiography

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adult (≥18 years) patients admitted to the ICU
  • Clinical indication to perform a transesophageal echocardiography

Exclusion Criteria:

  • <18 years

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Adult ICU patients undergoing clinically indicated transesophageal echocardiography
Procedure: Transesophageal Echocardiography
Transesophageal Echocardiography

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Agreement between TEE-confirmed insertion depth and landmark-based insertion depth
Time Frame: Periprocedural
Agreement between TEE-confirmed insertion depth and landmark-based insertion depth
Periprocedural

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Institute of Mountain Emergency Medicine

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Simon Rauch, MD, PhD, Azienda Sanitaria dell'Alto Adige

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 12, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

July 30, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

July 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 28, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 5, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • ESOTIP-TEE

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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