[Accuracy and usefulness of ultraportable hand-carried echocardiography system].
OBJECTIVE
The diagnostic accuracy and usefulness of an ultraportable hand-carried echocardiography system were investigated for assessing ventricular systolic function and severity of mitral valvular regurgitation.


METHODS
The study population consisted of 77 consecutive patients (47 men, 30 women, mean age 63 +/- 15 years). Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, left ventricular end-systolic dimension and left ventricular ejection fraction were measured using the hand-carried echo system and the data were compared with measurements by the conventional echocardiography system using simple linear regression analysis. Left ventricular wall motion was compared between the systems using a 16-segment model recommended by the American Society of Echocardiography. Severity of mitral regurgitation was assessed by the distance of the regurgitant signal in the left atrium.


RESULTS
Left ventricular end-diastolic dimension, left ventricular end-systolic dimension and left ventricular ejection fraction showed good correlations between hand-carried and conventional echo systems (r = 0.94, 0.91 and 0.81, respectively; each p < 0.0001). The accuracy for assessing left ventricular wall motion was 94% (449 of 480 segments). The echo systems also showed the same degree of diagnostic accuracy for severity of mitral regurgitation.


CONCLUSIONS
The hand-carried echo system provides accurate assessment of left ventricular function and mitral regurgitation simular to conventional echo machines.
Ohyama
R
R
Second Department of Internal Medicine, Yamaguchi University School of Medicine, Minamikogushi 1-1-1, Ube, Yamaguchi 755-8505.
Murata
K
K
Tanaka
N
N
Takaki
A
A
Kimura
K
K
Ueda
K
K
Liu
J
J
Wada
Y
Y
Harada
N
N
Matsuzaki
M
M
D000368:Aged; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009200:Myocardial Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left / Q000502:physiology*