End-systolic and end-diastolic left atrial volume assessment by two-dimensional echocardiography: a comparison study with magnetic resonance imaging.
BACKGROUND
The left atrial volume (LAV) is an important indicator of the severity of certain diseases, and measuring LAV through the cardiac cycle may enable the evaluation of various left atrium (LA) functional parameters. The results of two-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic LAV measurement methods vary, and no technique is accepted as being optimal.


OBJECTIVE
This study compared the accuracy of end-systolic and end-diastolic LAV measurements by 2D echocardiography with those obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).


METHODS
Fifty consecutive patients who underwent both echocardiography and MRI due to clinical reasons with nonselective cardiac disease were studied. LAVs by 2D echocardiography were obtained with the prolate ellipsoid (PE), biplane area-length (AL), and modified Simpson's (MS) methods.


RESULTS
End-systolic and end-diastolic LAVs calculated by each method correlated significantly with MRI results (P < 0.0001). The prolate ellipsoid method provided LAVs that most correlated with MRI results, and the biplane area-length and modified Simpson's methods provided LAVs with small mean differences (<5 ml) compared to MRI results.


CONCLUSIONS
All three methods of 2D echocardiographic LAV measurement provide valuable LAV data, suggesting the possibility of evaluating various LA functional parameters.
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Kiyoko
K
Uno
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan. yo-seo@md.tsukuba.ac.jp.
Yoshihiro
Y
Seo
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Tomoko
T
Ishizu
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Takeshi
T
Inaba
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Fumiko
F
Sakamaki
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Noriko
N
Iida
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Hideki
H
Nakajima
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Yasuyuki
Y
Oyake
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Sadanori
S
Ohtsuka
Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Yumiko
Y
Tanaka
Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Manabu
M
Minami
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Shigeyuki
S
Watanabe
Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan.
Kazutaka
K
Aonuma
2D echocardiography; Left atrial volume; Magnetic resonance imaging