title: The use of echocardiography in observational clinical trials: the EURECA-m registry.
abstract: Echocardiography is the most widely used non-invasive imaging technique due to its availability, low cost, transportability and lack of ionizing radiations. However, it suffers from the main limitation of being highly subjective and operator-dependent. Furthermore, specifically, population or disease-dependent issues exist which should be addressed when this technique is applied in multicenter studies. As to the population of patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) maintained on chronic dialysis, indexation of echocardiographic parameters and timing of echocardiography in relationship to dialysis represent a specific, main issue that needs to be carefully considered and standardized. Scientific societies recommend the set-up of core laboratories in order to reduce inter- and intra-observer variability when an echocardiographic parameter is considered as an end-point in clinical research. Several studies have shown the superiority of interpretation given by echocardiography core-lab reading. These advantages are counterbalanced by higher costs and complexity. The EURECA-m registry by the EURECA-m working group, an ERA-EDTA initiative, aimed at promoting the scientific collaboration among professionals in the field of cardiovascular and renal medicine. The registry involves several centers in Europe and one of its aims is to measure conventional echocardiographic parameters in ESRD patients on chronic dialysis. A central reading protocol has been set up for the registry in order to give robustness to the echo studies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. rosas@ifc.cnr.it
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sicari
authors.forename: Luna
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gargani
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wiecek
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covic
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goldsmith
authors.forename: Gultekin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Suleymanlar
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parati
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortiz
authors.forename: Ziad
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Massy
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martinez-Castelao
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lindholm
authors.forename: Gunnar H
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Heine
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fliser
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mallamaci
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: London
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zoccali
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004452:Echocardiography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007676:Kidney Failure, Chronic / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D012042:Registries; D006435:Renal Dialysis