Position statement on indications of echocardiography in adults ­ 2019

In accordance with the "Standards for the Elaboration of Guidelines, Positions and Normations" sanctioned by the Brazilian Society of Cardiology, this document was written to update the "Echocardiography Indication Guidelines" of 2009. The new document is not intended to be a comprehensive review of echocardiography, but rather an indispensable basic guide to support the rational clinical decision-making of the physician requesting the exam for adult patients. Although it considers the recent technological advances of echocardiography, its purpose is not to describe in detail echocardiography methods, but to summarize in a clear and concise way the main situations in which echocardiography brings benefit to the diagnosis and/or therapeutic orientation of the individual. This manuscript chose to highlight the class of recommendation, as described below: Class I: conditions for which there is conclusive evidence or, in the absence thereof, general agreement that the examination procedure is useful and safe. Class II: conditions for which there is conflicting evidence and/or divergence of opinion on the utility and/or safety of the examination. Class-IIa: evidence or opinions favorable to the examination. Most experts approve. Class IIb: utility and/or safety less well established, with divergent opinions. Class III: conditions for which there is evidence or consensus that the examination is not useful and, in some cases, may even be harmful. In addition, the level of evidence was also described, as follows: A: several concordant randomized clinical trials or robust meta-analyses; B: less robust meta-analysis data or single randomized clinical study or observational studies; C: expert opinion.(AU)