title: Recommendations of the European Association of Echocardiography: how to use echo-Doppler in clinical trials: different modalities for different purposes.
abstract: The European Association of Echocardiography (EAE) has developed the present recommendations to assist clinical researchers in the design, implementation, and conduction of echocardiographic protocols for clinical trials and to guarantee their quality. Clinical trials should be designed and conducted based on the knowledge of the pathophysiology of the clinical condition studied, the technical characteristics of the echo-Doppler modalities, and the variability of the tested parameters. These procedures are important to choose the most reliable and reproducible techniques and parameters. Quality assurance must be guaranteed by adequate training of peripheral site operators to obtain optimal echo-Doppler data and by using a core laboratory for accurate and reproducible data analysis.
authors.affiliation: Echocardiography Laboratory, Cardioangiology with CCU, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Federico II University Hospital of Naples, Block 1, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131 Naples, Italy. mgalderi@unina.it
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galderisi
authors.forename: Michael Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Henein
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: D'hooge
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sicari
authors.forename: Luigi P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Badano
authors.forename: Josè Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Zamorano
authors.forename: Jos R T C
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Roelandt
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D015150:Echocardiography, Doppler / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005060:Europe; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology; D006349:Heart Valve Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013318:Stroke Volume; D013599:Systole; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right