Sensitivity and specificity of pulsed Doppler echocardiography in detection of aortic and mitral regurgitation

In order to assess the value of pulsed Doppler echocardiography in detection of valvular regurgitation, 63 patients were evaluated for aortic and/or mitral regurgitation using pulsed Doppler echocardiography and selective cineangiography. The Doppler study was considered as positive when a turbulent flow was detected below the aortic valve for aortic insufficiency and behind the mitral valve for mitral insufficiency on a graphic display (time interval histogram) when technically adequate and/or on an audiosignal. These results were compared with standard angiographic evaluation of the regurgitation: pulsed Doppler echocardiography had 94% sensitivity and the specificity rate was very high (87.5%) even for mild regurgitation. Thus, Doppler technique is highly specific and sensitive in detection of aortic and mitral regurgitation when both audiosignal and time-interval histogram are simultaneously performed.