title: Cardiac MRI assessment of right ventricular function in acquired heart disease: factors of variability.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate intra- and inter-observer variability of right ventricular (RV) functional parameters as evaluated by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with acquired heart disease (AHD), and to identify factors associated with an increased variability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty consecutive patients were enrolled. Right and left ventricular (LV) volumes, ejection fraction, and mass were determined from short-axis cine sequences. All analyzes were performed twice by three observers with various training-degree in cardiac MRI. Intra- and inter-observer variability was evaluated. The impact on variability of each of the following parameters was assessed: observer's experience, basal and apical slices selection, end-systolic phase selection, and delineation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Mean segmentation time ranged 9.8-19.0 minutes for RV and 6.4-9.2 minutes for LV. Variability of RV functional parameters measurement was strongly influenced by previous observer's experience: it was two to three times superior to that of LV, even for the most experienced observer. High variability in the measurement of RV mass was observed. For both ventricles, selection of the basal slice and delineation were major determinants of variability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As compared to LV, RV function assessment with cardiac MRI in AHD patients is much more variable and time-consuming. Observer's experience, selection of basal slice, and delineation are determinant.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Rouen University Hospital, France. jerome.caudron@chu-rouen.fr
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caudron
authors.forename: Jeannette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fares
authors.forename: Valentin
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lefebvre
authors.forename: Pierre-Hugues
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Vivier
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Petitjean
authors.forename: Jean-Nicolas
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Dacher
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019028:Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013318:Stroke Volume; D018497:Ventricular Dysfunction, Right / Q000175:diagnosis*