Thibault H, Timperley J, Ehlgen A, Pariente A, Dawson D, Becher H
Can contrast dobutamine stress echocardiography be performed with standardized imaging settings for everybody? [Clinical Trial, Journal Article]
J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2005 Nov; 18(11):1194-202.
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess a standardized imaging and contrast injection protocol for contrast-enhanced dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE).
METHODS: A total of 102 patients underwent DSE with tissue harmonic imaging and a standardized protocol with contrast power modulation. Contrast intensities in the left ventricular cavity and the myocardium were evaluated by a visual score and quantitative analysis.
RESULTS: Of the contrast studies, 98% were diagnostic without modification of the settings. Excellent endocardial border definition was found in 93% of the segments with contrast versus 53% with tissue harmonic imaging (P < .05). The interobserver agreement in assessing segmental wall motion improved from 71.5% to 85.9%. There were no differences between the myocardial segments' video intensity in the four- and three-chamber views. In the two-chamber view video intensity was lower in the basal segments compared with the other segments.
CONCLUSION: Power modulation contrast imaging can be applied with a completely standardized protocol for DSE in the majority of patients with excellent endocardial border definition.
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