| Title | Sonovue improves endocardial border detection and variability in assessing wall motion score and ejection fraction during stress echocardiography. | | Author(s) | Brown AS, Calachanis M, Evdoridis C, Hancock J, Wild S, Prasan A, Nihoyannopoulos P, Monaghan MJ | | Institution | Department of Cardiology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. angiebrown29@hotmail.com | | Source | Ir J Med Sci 2004 Jan-Mar; 173(1):13-7. | | MeSH | Echocardiography, Stress
Endocardium
Female
Humans
Image Enhancement
Male
Microbubbles
Middle Aged
Myocardial Contraction
Phospholipids
Stroke Volume
Sulfur Hexafluoride
| | Abstract | BACKGROUND: Stress echocardiography is useful for assessing patients with coronary artery disease unable to undergo formal exercise testing. Considerable skill is required to avoid large intra- and inter-observer variability due to poor endocardial definition. Intravenous ultrasound contrast agents are now available which may improve this variability.
AIM: To study intravenous Sonovue in assessing wall motion score and ejection fraction (EF) during stress echocardiography.
METHODS: Thirty-eight patients undergoing arbutamine stress echocardiography for known or suspected coronary artery disease were studied. Echocardiographic analysis of wall motion score index, endocardial border detection (EBD) and EF was performed at rest and at peak stress before and after intravenous injection of Sonovue, by experienced and inexperienced observers.
RESULTS: All three observers noted an improvement in endocardial border definition following Sonovue (p=<0.001). At baseline, there was a significant difference in wall motion score index between experienced and inexperienced observers at rest (p=0.01) and at peak stress (p=0.001). Following Sonovue administration this was no longer significant (p=0.07, p=0.114). Intra-observer variability of end diastolic, end systolic volumes (ESV) and EF improved following contrast (p<0.05) at rest and during stress.
CONCLUSION: Sonovue significantly improved EBD and reduced intra-observer variability of EF at rest and during peak arbutamine infusion. | | Language | eng | | Pub Type(s) | Clinical Trial
Clinical Trial, Phase III
Journal Article
Multicenter Study
| | PubMed ID | 15732229 |
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