title: Accuracy of routine echocardiographic measurements made by an inexperienced examiner through tele-instruction.
abstract: The reproducibility and accuracy of routine echocardiographic measurements made by an inexperienced doctor using tele-instruction were evaluated. Thirty-eight patients were first examined at a local hospital by an inexperienced doctor instructed by a specialist 450 km away at a university hospital. The specialist then examined the patients at the local hospital using the same equipment, after an average of 50 days. The accuracy of M-mode and quantitative Doppler measurements was comparable to that observed in reproducibility studies made under normal examination conditions. There were no systematic measurement errors. No important M-mode information was missed except evidence of left ventricular hypertrophy in six patients. In the two-dimensional examination there were differences of clinical significance in only three patients. There were no clinically important differences in the Doppler quantification of mitral and aortic regurgitation. Tele-instructed echocardiography is also an excellent educational tool, allowing an inexperienced examiner gradually to take responsibility for the local echocardiographic service.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Kirkenes Hospital, Norway.
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Afset
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lunde
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D009664:Norway; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D014741:Video Recording