title: Applicability of cardiogoniometry as a non-invasive screening tool for the detection of graft vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients.
abstract: Currently available diagnostic modalities for the detection of graft vasculopathy following orthotopic heart transplantation are subject to various restrictions. We hypothesized that cardiogoniometry, a novel non-invasive diagnostic tool for the detection of atherosclerotic coronary vessel disease, is applicable in the graft vasculopathy setting. Cardiogoniometric results were obtained during routine follow-up in 49 consecutive, unselected heart transplant recipients and then retrospectively correlated blindly by an independent reader to recent angiographic findings. Sensitivity of cardiogoniometry was 100%, specificity 62.3%, positive predictive value 68.75%, negative predictive value 100%, negative likelihood ratio 0 and positive likelihood ratio 2.888. Cardiogoniometry is potentially applicable as an easy-to-perform, non-invasive screening tool predominantly for the exclusion but also for the detection of graft vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Heart Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria sp11@outlook.de.
authors.forename: Sotirios
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spiliopoulos
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Heart Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Vera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hergesell
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Heart Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Otto
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Dapunt
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Heart Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Krueger
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Heart Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Reiner
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koerfer
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiac Surgery, University Heart Center Graz, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Gero
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tenderich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D016027:Heart Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D066027:Transplant Recipients
keywords: Allograft; Diagnostic imaging; Vasculopathy