Assessment of left ventricular wall motion abnormalities with the use of color kinesis: a valuable visual and training aid.
Accurate interpretation of left ventricular segmental wall motion by echocardiography is an important yet difficult skill to learn. Color-coded left ventricular wall motion (color kinesis) is a tool that potentially could aid in the interpretation and provide semiquantification. We studied the usefulness of color kinesis in 42 patients with a history of congestive cardiomyopathy who underwent two-dimensional echocardiograms and a color kinesis study. The expert's reading of the two-dimensional wall motion served as a reference for comparison of color kinesis studies interpreted by the expert and a cardiovascular trainee. Correlation between two-dimensional echocardiography and the expert's and trainee's color coded wall motion scores were r = 0.83 and r = 0.67, respectively. Reproducibility between reviewers and between operators was also assessed. Interobserver variability for color-coded wall motion showed a correlation of r = 0.78. Correlation between operators was also good; r = 0.84. Color kinesis is reliable and appears promising as an adjunct in the assessment of wall motion abnormalities by echocardiography. It is both a valuable visual aid, as well as a training aid for the cardiovascular trainee.
Lau
Y S
YS
Department of Medicine, Stanford University Medical Center, CA 94305-5233, USA.
Puryear
J V
JV
Gan
S C
SC
Fowler
M B
MB
Vagelos
R H
RH
Popp
R L
RL
Schnittger
I
I
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods*; D004699:Endocardium / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology