AIM: We sought to assess the reliability of some basic echocardiographic data obtained by trained sonographers using a hand-held ultrasound device. METHODS: One hundred and twelve consecutive patients (mean age 61, 64 males) referred for in-hospital or ambulatory routine echocardiography were considered. All patients underwent two-dimensional and colour Doppler examination performed by a trained sonographer equipped with a hand-held ultrasound device and by a certified cardiologist equipped with a standard platform, in random order. Indexed left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic transverse diameters, aortic root, end-systolic left atrium transverse diameter, end-diastolic interventricular septum and posterior wall thickness were calculated by two-dimensional left parasternal long-axis view in blind conditions. Mitral and aortic valve regurgitation were investigated by colour-Doppler imaging on parasternal and apical views and compared using a 0 to 4 semi-quantitative score. RESULTS: Overall feasibility was high for both settings (sonographers: 93%; cardiologists: 95%; P not significant). Excellent concordance of end-diastolic diameter (kappa 0.75), left atrium (kappa 0.76) and interventricular septum thickness (kappa 0.77) results was found. Good concordance was observed for end-systolic diameter (kappa 0.66), aortic root (kappa 0.64) and posterior wall thickness (kappa 0.67) results. A high linear correlation between the couples of results was present for all parameters. A good agreement of the mitral (kappa 0.66) and aortic (kappa 0.84) regurgitation scores was also found, with a low prevalence of discordant results (mitral regurgitation: 22%, aortic regurgitation: 9%) and no > or =2-point discrepancies. CONCLUSION: In a general population referred for Doppler echocardiography, basic cardiac linear dimensions and valvular regurgitation severity assessment by trained sonographers using hand-held ultrasound devices appear accurate and reliable for routine clinical use.
AIM: We sought to assess the reliability of some basic echocardiographic data obtained by trained sonographers using a hand-held ultrasound device. METHODS: One hundred and twelve consecutive patients (mean age 61, 64 males) referred for in-hospital or ambulatory routine echocardiography were considered. All patients underwent two-dimensional and colour Doppler examination performed by a trained sonographer equipped with a hand-held ultrasound device and by a certified cardiologist equipped with a standard platform, in random order. Indexed left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic transverse diameters, aortic root, end-systolic left atrium transverse diameter, end-diastolic interventricular septum and posterior wall thickness were calculated by two-dimensional left parasternal long-axis view in blind conditions. Mitral and aortic valve regurgitation were investigated by colour-Doppler imaging on parasternal and apical views and compared using a 0 to 4 semi-quantitative score. RESULTS: Overall feasibility was high for both settings (sonographers: 93%; cardiologists: 95%; P not significant). Excellent concordance of end-diastolic diameter (kappa 0.75), left atrium (kappa 0.76) and interventricular septum thickness (kappa 0.77) results was found. Good concordance was observed for end-systolic diameter (kappa 0.66), aortic root (kappa 0.64) and posterior wall thickness (kappa 0.67) results. A high linear correlation between the couples of results was present for all parameters. A good agreement of the mitral (kappa 0.66) and aortic (kappa 0.84) regurgitation scores was also found, with a low prevalence of discordant results (mitral regurgitation: 22%, aortic regurgitation: 9%) and no > or =2-point discrepancies. CONCLUSION: In a general population referred for Doppler echocardiography, basic cardiac linear dimensions and valvular regurgitation severity assessment by trained sonographers using hand-held ultrasound devices appear accurate and reliable for routine clinical use.
Authors: Kerry A Loughran; John E Rush; Elizabeth A Rozanski; Mark A Oyama; Éva Larouche-Lebel; Marc S Kraus Journal: J Vet Intern Med Date: 2019-07-17 Impact factor: 3.333
Authors: Sam Jenkins; Samer Alabed; Andrew Swift; Gabriel Marques; Alisdair Ryding; Chris Sawh; James Wardley; Benoy Nalin Shah; Peter Swoboda; Roxy Senior; Robin Nijveldt; Vassilios S Vassiliou; Pankaj Garg Journal: Heart Date: 2021-08-06 Impact factor: 5.994