title: Usefulness of real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography in the assessment of infective endocarditis: initial experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to provide an initial description of the usefulness of real-time 3-dimensional (3D) echocardiography when evaluating patients with infective endocarditis.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this purpose, we describe 3 cases in which the usefulness of real-time 3D echocardiography is shown.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Better definition of the morphologic characteristics of the vegetation and valvular apparatus was achieved with real-time 3D echocardiography. Furthermore, the information provided by the real-time 3D echocardiogram to the surgical team was accurate and direct because it was not based on detailed verbal information for performing a 3D mental reconstruction but was a simple image similar to what would be found in the operating room. In all cases, the information provided by the real-time 3D echocardiography was confirmed during surgery.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Real-time 3D echocardiography is an important tool for aiding diagnosis or for fine tuning a suspected diagnosis when traditional echocardiography is not completely clear for both medical and surgical decision making.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Ecocardiografía, Instituto Cardiovascular, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Leopoldo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pérez de Isla
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zamorano
authors.forename: Gracieta
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Malangatana
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Almería
authors.forename: José Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Rodrigo
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cordeiro
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Macaya
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged