Accuracy and reproducibility of novel echocardiographic three-dimensional automated software for the assessment of the aortic root in candidates for thanscatheter aortic valve replacement

AIMS

A specialized three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography (3D-TOE) reconstruction tool has recently been introduced; the system automatically configures a geometric model of the aortic root from the images obtained by 3D-TOE and performs quantitative analysis of these structures. The aim of this study was to compare the measurements of the aortic annulus (AA) obtained by the new model to that obtained by 3D-TOE and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in candidates to transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) and to assess the reproducibility of this new method.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We included 31 patients who underwent TAVI. The AA diameters and area were evaluated by the manual 3D-TOE method and by the automatic software. We showed an excellent correlation between the measurements obtained by both methods: intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC): 0.731 (0.508-0.862), r: 0.742 for AA diameter and ICC: 0.723 (0.662-0.923), r: 0.723 for the AA area, with no significant differences regardless of the method used. The interobserver variability was superior for the automatic measurements than for the manual ones. In a subgroup of 10 patients, we also found an excellent correlation between the automatic measurements and those obtained by MDCT, ICC: 0.941 (0.761-0.985), r: 0.901 for AA diameter and ICC: 0.853 (0.409-0.964), r: 0.744 for the AA area.

CONCLUSION

The new automatic 3D-TOE software allows modelling and quantifying the aortic root from 3D-TOE data with high reproducibility. There is good correlation between the automated measurements and other 3D validated techniques. Our results support its use in clinical practice as an alternative to MDCT previous to TAVI.

Intracardiac flow visualization: current status and future directions

Non-invasive cardiovascular imaging initially focused on heart structures, allowing the visualization of their motion and inferring its functional status from it. Colour-Doppler and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) have allowed a visual approach to intracardiac flow behaviour, as well as measuring its velocity at single selected spots. Recently, the application of new technologies to medical use and, particularly, to cardiology has allowed, through different algorithms in CMR and applications of ultrasound-related techniques, the description and analysis of flow behaviour in all points and directions of the selected region, creating the opportunity to incorporate new data reflecting cardiac performance to cardiovascular imaging. The following review provides an overview of the currently available imaging techniques that enable flow visualization, as well as its present and future applications based on the available literature and on-going works.

[Myocarditis: magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis and follow-up]

Myocarditis, inflammation of the myocardium, is usually due to viral infection. Diagnostic confirmation in ordinary clinical practice is difficult because the findings on the clinical history, physical examination, electrocardiogram, and laboratory tests offer scant diagnostic accuracy, and the differential diagnosis is often done with acute myocardial infarction. Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has become the method of choice for the diagnosis of myocarditis. In this article, we describe the CMR findings at diagnosis and during the follow-up of patients with myocarditis, the differential diagnosis with other acute processes like myocardial infarction, and the prognostic factors studied with CMR.

Myocardial bridging assessed by multidetector computed tomography: likely cause of chest pain in younger patients with low prevalence of dyslipidemia

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The relationship between myocardial bridging and symptoms is still unclear. The purpose of our study was to assess the relationship between myocardial bridging detected by multidetector computed tomography and symptoms in a patient population with chest pain syndrome.

METHODS

The study enrolled 393 consecutive patients without previous coronary artery disease studied for chest pain and referred to multidetector computed tomography between January 2007 and December 2010. Noninvasive coronary angiography was performed using multidetector computed tomography. Myocardial bridging was defined as part of a coronary artery completely surrounded by myocardium on axial and multiplanar reformatted images.

RESULTS

Mean age was 64.6 (12.4) years and 44.8% were male. Multidetector computed tomography detected 86 myocardial bridging images in 82 of the 393 patients (20.9%). Left anterior descending was the most frequent coronary artery involved (87.2%). The prevalence of myocardial bridging was significantly higher in patients without significant atherosclerotic coronary stenosis on multidetector computed tomography (24.9% vs 15.0%; P=.02). Patients with myocardial bridging were younger (60.3 [13.8] vs 65.8 [11.9]; P<.001), had less prevalence of hyperlipidemia (29.3% vs 41.8%; P=.03), and more prevalence of cardiomyopathy (6.1% vs 1.6%, P=.02) compared with patients without myocardial bridging on multidetector computed tomography.

CONCLUSIONS

Multidetector computed tomography is an easy and reliable tool for comprehensive in vivo diagnosis of myocardial bridging. The results of the present study suggest myocardial bridging is the cause of chest pain in a subgroup of younger aged patients with less prevalence of hyperlipidemia and more prevalence of cardiomyopathy than patients with significant atherosclerotic coronary artery disease on multidetector computed tomography. Full English text available from:www.revespcardiol.org.

Prosthesis/annulus discongruence assessed by three-dimensional transoesophageal echocardiography: a predictor of significant paravalvular aortic regurgitation after transcatheter aortic valve implantation

AIMS

Paravalvular aortic regurgitation (AR) is common after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). This study aimed to assess the prosthesis/aortic annulus discongruence by three-dimensional (3D) transoesophageal (TOE) planimetry of aortic annulus and its impact on the occurrence of significant AR after TAVI.

METHODS AND RESULTS

We included 33 patients who underwent TAVI with a balloon expandable device for severe aortic stenosis. To appraise the prosthesis/annulus discongruence, we defined a 'mismatch index' expressed as: annulus area - prosthesis area. The aortic annulus area was planimetered with 3D TOE, and approximated by circular area formula (π r(2)) using annulus diameter obtained by two-dimensional (2D) TOE. After TAVI, 13 patients (39.3%) developed significant AR (≥2/4). The occurrence of significant AR was associated to the 3D planimetered annulus area (P = 0.04), and the 'mismatch index' obtained through 3D planimetered annulus area (P = 0.03), but not to 'mismatch index' derived of 2D annulus diameter. In multivariate analysis, 'mismatch index' for 3D planimetered annulus area was the only independent predictor of significant AR (odds ratio: 10.614; 95% CI: 1.044-17.21; P = 0.04). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for the 'mismatch index' by the 3D planimetered annulus area was 0.76 (95% CI: 0.54-0.92), whereas for 'mismatch index' obtained by the 2D circular area was 0.36 (95% CI: 0.17-0.55). Using the 3D planimetered annulus area as the reference parameter to decide the prosthetic size, the choice would have been different in 21 patients (63%).

CONCLUSION

Three-dimensional TOE planimetry of aortic annulus improves the assessment of prosthesis/annulus discongruence and predicts the appearance of significant AR after TAVI.