title: Live/Real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of pericardial disease.
abstract: We studied 19 patients with pericardial disease using two-dimensional and three-dimensional transthorathic echocardiography (2DTTE and 3DTTE, respectively) in order to determine whether 3DTTE provides incremental value on top of 2DTTE in the evaluation of these patients. With 3DTTE a more comprehensive assessment of pericardial effusion can be made and both the parietal and visceral layers of the pericardium can be visualized en face and examined for pathologies and fibrin deposits. In our series of patients, 3DTTE was superior to 2DTTE in uncovering mass lesions involving the pericardium such as tuberculous granulomas and metastatic disease. Furthermore, it provided a better assessment of the nature of pericardial lesions, such as pericardial and mediastinal hematomas, pericardial cysts, and metastatic disease to the pericardium by sequential cropping of the 3D data sets and visualizing the interior of the lesions in a manner not possible with 2DTTE. It was also valuable in determining the extent of pericardial calcification in pericardial constriction and in measuring the size of pericardial masses. These preliminary results suggest the superiority of 3DTTE over 2DTTE in the evaluation of pericardial diseases and that it provides incremental knowledge to the echocardiographer.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Disease, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
authors.forename: Carlos Martinez
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hernandez
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Fadi G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Hage
authors.forename: Navin C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Nanda
authors.forename: Ming C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Hsiung
authors.forename: Jeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Chung Yi
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Kuo Chen
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sung How
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Sue
authors.forename: Wei Hsian
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Nagwa Ahmed Abdel Rahman
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Aly
authors.forename: Onkar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Deshmukh
authors.forename: Monodeep
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Isha
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.forename: Kumar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sanam
authors.forename: Upasana
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003199:Computer Systems; D019560:Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010493:Pericarditis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity