title: Accuracy of Doppler echocardiography in the hemodynamic assessment of pulmonary hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography is recommended for screening for the presence of pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, some recent studies have suggested that Doppler echocardiographic pulmonary artery pressure estimates may frequently be inaccurate.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Evaluate the accuracy of Doppler echocardiography for estimating pulmonary artery pressure and cardiac output.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a prospective study on patients with various forms of PH who underwent comprehensive Doppler echocardiography within 1 hour of a clinically indicated right-heart catheterization to compare noninvasive hemodynamic estimates with invasively measured values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 65 patients completed the study protocol. Using Bland-Altman analytic methods, the bias for the echocardiographic estimates of the pulmonary artery systolic pressure was -0.6 mm Hg with 95% limits of agreement ranging from +38.8 to -40.0 mm Hg. Doppler echocardiography was inaccurate (defined as being greater than +/-10 mm Hg of the invasive measurement) in 48% of cases. Overestimation and underestimation of pulmonary artery systolic pressure by Doppler echocardiography occurred with a similar frequency (16 vs. 15 instances, respectively). The magnitude of pressure underestimation was greater than overestimation (-30 +/- 16 vs. +19 +/- 11 mm Hg; P = 0.03); underestimates by Doppler also led more often to misclassification of the severity of the PH. For cardiac output measurement, the bias was -0.1 L/min with 95% limits of agreement ranging from +2.2 to -2.4 L/min.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Doppler echocardiography may frequently be inaccurate in estimating pulmonary artery pressure and cardiac output in patients being evaluated for PH.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors.forename: Micah R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Forfia
authors.forename: Elzbieta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chamera
authors.forename: Traci
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Housten-Harris
authors.forename: Hunter C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Champion
authors.forename: Reda E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Girgis
authors.forename: Mary C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Corretti
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Hassoun
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006976:Hypertension, Pulmonary / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity