title: Assessment of severity of aortic regurgitation by M-mode colour Doppler flow imaging.
abstract: To assess the value of measuring the aortic regurgitant jet diameter at its origin by M-mode colour Doppler imaging, 82 patients with aortic regurgitation underwent, within 72 h of each other, colour Doppler examination and angiography. After excluding one patient without colour Doppler aortic regurgitation and five with a highly eccentric regurgitant jet, we found a close relationship between the jet diameter at its origin measured by M-mode colour Doppler and the angiographic grade of aortic regurgitation (r = 0.88). A jet diameter greater than or equal to 12 mm identified severe aortic regurgitation (grade III or IV) with a sensitivity of 86.4% and a specificity of 94.4%. In 38 patients, the jet diameter correlated well with the regurgitant fraction measured by a combined haemodynamic-angiographic method (r = 0.88). A jet diameter greater than or equal to 12 mm identified a regurgitant fraction greater than or equal to 40% with a sensitivity of 88.2% and a specificity of 95.2%. This study indicates that the size of the regurgitant jet diameter at its origin measured by M-mode colour Doppler provides a simple and useful measure of the severity of aortic regurgitation. It may allow differentiation between mild or moderate and severe aortic regurgitation and evaluation of regurgitant fraction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, South Hospital, University of Picardie, Amiens, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tribouilloy
authors.forename: W F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slama
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rey
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dufossé
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choquet
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lesbre
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D001022:Aortic Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler; D005260:Female; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests