title: Quantitative assessment of pericardial effusion volume by two-dimensional echocardiography.
abstract: The clinical applicability of a method for quantifying pericardial effusion (PE) was studied. The pericardial and cardiac volumes were determined from border tracings of 2-dimensional echocardiograms fitted with 3-dimensional disk models. The PE volume was the difference between pericardial and cardiac volumes. A phantom study included 54 cases with different volumes and viewing geometry showed a correlation coefficient r = 0.98 and an accuracy of +/- 6%. A clinical study included 20 cases showing that the estimated PE volume correlated well with that drained surgically (between 100 mL and 1200 mL): y = 0.81 x + 120 mL; r = 0.91, P <.0001. The percent error, determined by the standard error of the estimate (114 mL) over mean (548 mL), was 20%. Intraobserver variability was 4% and interobserver variability 6%. The 3-dimensional disk method provides a quick and convenient way to quantify PE from 2-dimensional echocardiograms with acceptable accuracy and reproducibility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Saint Vincent's Hospital, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Anita M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Prakash
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Salvatore A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Chiaramida
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Lucariello
mesh_terms: D002306:Cardiac Volume; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D015588:Observer Variation; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014463:Ultrasonography