Utility of Tei Index as a Potential Diagnostic and Prognostic Index for Decompensated Heart Failure-Perception of Practicing Medical Professionals

Background and Objectives: Tei index is a Doppler-derived myocardial performance index, which is a measure of the combined systolic and diastolic myocardial performance of both the left and right ventricles. The Tei index is a new echocardiographic/Doppler index, calculated as isovolumic relaxation time and isovolumic contraction time divided by ejection time. The purpose of the study was to explore the utility of Tei index as a potential diagnostic tool for decompensated heart failure among medical professionals. Methodology: There were 47 medical professionals included in the study and enquired about the utility of Tei index using three different methods direct face-to-face interview, telephonic interview and e-mail survey. Results: According to the response, 25 professionals were not using Tei index, 18 of them were using Tei index when needed even though not regularly and only four of them were using Tei index frequently for the diagnosis and to know the prognosis of heart failure patients. Conclusion: The study findings did conclude that the difficulty of using Tei index is that it takes more time and it needs expert knowledge. Hence, the study emphasizes a clear need for education about the applications and technicalities of using Tei index as a diagnostic index for heart failure patients. This study also suggests that an algorithm can be created to make Tei index more applicable and user friendly.