Key result
Updated guidelines from the American Society of Echocardiography establish standardized reporting for adult echocardiography to improve quality, consistency, and data interoperability.
Why the study?
Standardization in adult echocardiography reporting is needed to uphold quality, consistency, and interoperability across labs and healthcare systems, and to facilitate big data analysis.
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
“The 2002 reporting guidelines were useful for bringing the field of cardiovascular ultrasound reporting into the digital information age, but they lacked the detail and clarity required for today's echocardiography laboratory operations. This new guideline views the echocardiographer as an active participant in translating echocardiographic findings into accurate and timely clinical decision-making. We have incorporated many new topics for improved communications, including proper abbreviation usage and a dictionary of both descriptive terms and echocardiographic measurements with their degree of precision.”
“Standardization provides a common framework that ensures consistency, efficiency, collaboration and quality. We saw great engagement from numerous stakeholders during the public comment period, and the feedback we received helped us incorporate perspectives beyond those of the writing committee.”
“By standardizing our approach and nomenclature, we can communicate better and ease data extraction to speed the development of novel AI tools to improve patient outcomes. We can do so through clarity, conciseness, and consistency in what we communicate on echo reports as well as standards for communicating this information (and how it compares to prior information), when critical, in an expeditious fashion to the appropriate personnel. Such standards are important to elevate the quality of echocardiography as it takes on a broader role in the care of our patients.”
Guidelines enhance reporting in echocardiography, ensuring quality and consistency for improved outcomes.
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) plays a vital role in establishing practice standards and guidelines within the echocardiography field. Its influence is comprehensive, covering training, image acquisition, nomenclature, measurements, diagnosis, and quality improvement. This report focuses on the final phases of the diagnostic imaging process, specifically reporting and communicating exam results. It provides updates to previously published guidelines on the required components of a comprehensive echocardiography report. Standardization within echocardiography reports is essential to uphold quality, consistency, and interoperability across various echocardiography (echo) labs, institutions, and healthcare systems, as well as over different time points. Additionally, standardized reporting is crucial for facilitating big data analysis, aligning with the current emphasis on machine learning and artificial intelligence. This document delineates core measurements and statements applicable to transthoracic, transesophageal, and stress echocardiography. It also elucidates abbreviations, acronyms, terminology, and definitions to enhance communication. The path from preliminary report to final submission is clarified, alongside examples of critical, urgent, and significant findings. Recommendations include comparison of serial echocardiograms and, when clinically relevant, comparisons with other imaging modalities. The document addresses the integration of simple congenital heart disease (CHD) findings appropriate for an adult echo lab. Standardization facilitates clinical and research endeavors by ensuring clear and consistent data reporting, thereby enabling seamless data sharing and reusability.
Journal, society, and media accounts. Useful signal, not independent expert judgment.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Taub et al. (2025) conducted a review in Echocardiography reporting. Standardized echocardiography reporting guidelines was evaluated. Updated guidelines from the American Society of Echocardiography establish standardized reporting for adult echocardiography to improve quality, consistency, and data interoperability.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: