Key result
The change in vector concentration after intervention correlated strongly with the change in measured catheter pressure difference (r = -0.86, p = 0.003) in pediatric patients with valvular stenosis.
Why the study?
Continuous wave Doppler ultrasound is routinely used to detect valvular stenoses, but whether vector flow imaging quantification of flow complexity could reliably assess valvular stenosis in pediatric patients was unknown.
Does transthoracic vector flow imaging (VFI) reliably assess valvular stenosis severity compared to invasive catheterization in pediatric patients?
Observational (n=9)
No
Does transthoracic vector flow imaging (VFI) reliably assess valvular stenosis severity compared to invasive catheterization in pediatric patients?
Transthoracic vector flow imaging is a feasible, angle-independent ultrasound method that correlates strongly with invasive catheterization for assessing valvular stenosis severity in pediatric patients.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
VFI flow complexity quantification correlated with invasive gradients in small pediatric series; leaves open clinical utility pending larger validation.
Purpose Continuous wave Doppler ultrasound is routinely used to detect cardiac valve stenoses. Vector flow imaging (VFI) is an angle-independent real-time ultrasound method that can quantify flow complexity. We aimed to evaluate if quantification of flow complexity could reliably assess valvular stenosis in pediatric patients. Materials and Methods Nine pediatric patients with echocardiographically confirmed valvular stenosis were included in the study. VFI and Doppler measurements were compared with transvalvular peak-to-peak pressure differences derived from invasive endovascular catheterization. Results Vector concentration correlated with the catheter measurements before intervention after exclusion of one outlier (r=−0.83, p=0.01), whereas the Doppler method did not (r=0.49, p=0.22). The change in vector concentration after intervention correlated strongly with the change in the measured catheter pressure difference (r=−0.86, p=0.003), while Doppler showed a tendency for a moderate correlation (r=0.63, p=0.07). Conclusion Transthoracic flow complexity quantification calculated from VFI data is feasible and may be useful for assessing valvular stenosis severity in pediatric patients.
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Nguyen et al. (2021) conducted an observational in Congenital aortic or pulmonary valve stenosis (n=9). Transthoracic Vector Flow Imaging (VFI) vs. Continuous wave Doppler ultrasound and invasive endovascular catheterization was evaluated on Correlation of change in vector concentration with change in measured catheter pressure difference after intervention (r = -0.86, p=0.003). The change in vector concentration after intervention correlated strongly with the change in measured catheter pressure difference (r = -0.86, p = 0.003) in pediatric patients with valvular stenosis.
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