Three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography accurately measured left ventricular ejection fraction compared with MRI (r=0.91), but significantly underestimated LV volumes.
Cross-Sectional (n=45)
Does three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography accurately quantify left ventricular volumes, ejection fraction, and global circumferential strain compared to cardiac MRI in healthy subjects?
3DSTE provides highly accurate measurements of LVEF compared to cardiac MRI, but systematically underestimates LV volumes and overestimates global circumferential strain.
Effect estimate: r: 0.91 for EF
AIMS: We evaluated the accuracy of three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) to evaluate left ventricular (LV) volumes, ejection fraction (EF), and global circumferential strain (CS) in comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a healthy population. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 45 out of 50 consecutive healthy subjects (38 males, age 45 ± 15 years) successfully underwent both 3DSTE and MRI on the same day. Three-dimensional echocardiography data sets were analysed using speckle tracking to measure LV end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes, EF, and global CS. With MRI, the method of discs approximation was used to obtain volumes and the EF, whereas CS was acquired using myocardial tissue tagging. Inter-technique comparisons included regression and the Bland-Altman analysis. For quantification of LV volumes, 3DSTE correlated well with MRI (r: 0.75-0.81), but volumes were significantly underestimated with relatively large biases (13-34 mL) and wide limits of agreement (SD: 11-25 mL). However, excellent accuracy was revealed for measurement of EF by 3DSTE with a good correlation (r: 0.91), minimal bias, and narrow limits of agreement (0.6 ± 1.7%) compared with MRI. For measurement of CS, a large mean bias was found between techniques (10.0%), despite narrow limits of agreement (SD: 1.7%) and a good correlation between techniques (r: 0.80). CONCLUSION: Although 3DSTE-derived LV volumes are underestimated in most patients compared with MRI, measurement of the LVEF revealed excellent accuracy. Measurements of CS were systematically greater (i.e. more negative) with 3DSTE than MRI, which likely reflects various inter-technique differences that preclude direct comparability of their measurements.
Kleijn et al. (Fri,) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy (n=45). Three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (3DSTE) vs. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was evaluated on Accuracy of 3DSTE to evaluate left ventricular volumes, ejection fraction, and global circumferential strain (r: 0.91 for EF). Three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography accurately measured left ventricular ejection fraction compared with MRI (r=0.91), but significantly underestimated LV volumes.