title: Accuracy and feasibility of a simplified approach to assess the regurgitant orifice area in patients with mitral regurgitation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Regurgitant orifice area (ROA) has been proposed as a marker of severity in patients with mitral regurgitation (MR). However, such fundamental quantitative echocardiographic parameter has failed to achieve widespread use, since it is difficult to measure. In the present study, we evaluated the accuracy and feasibility of a simplified method for quantification of ROA in patients with varying grades of MR.
  
  
  METHODS
  We studied two groups of individuals with echocardiographically diagnosed MR. Group I included 70 patients retrospectively evaluated, in whom we were able to obtain an adequate flow convergence region by color Doppler and recording of continuous-wave Doppler regurgitant jet. Group II included 32 MR patients prospectively evaluated. The degee of MR was assessed by two quantitative echocardiographic measures: the regurgitant fraction and the ROA, calculated either dividing peak flow rate by the maximal velocity through the orifice or with the simplified formula: r2/2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In group I, the mechanism of MR was organic in 18 patients and ischemic/functional in 52 patients. ROA calculated by the simplified formula correlated well with the conventional one (r = 0.85) and with the regurgitant fraction (r = 0.72). In group II, we could calculate the ROA by the conventional method in 56% of patients, whereas use of the simplified approach allowed ROA evaluation in 78% of patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that the use of a simplified formula may increase the number of patients having ROA, a fundamental parameter of MR severity, measured in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, S. Maria di Loreto Hospital, Naples, Italy. luigi.ascione20@tin.it
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ascione
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Michele
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Accadia
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rumolo
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Damiano
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guarini
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Andrea
authors.forename: Bernardino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tuccillo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001783:Blood Flow Velocity / Q000502:physiology; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D002648:Child; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003326:Coronary Circulation / Q000502:physiology; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007558:Italy; D008875:Middle Aged; D008944:Mitral Valve Insufficiency / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012214:Rheumatic Heart Disease / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013223:Statistics as Topic