Quantification of Atherosclerotic Burden in the Descending Aorta by Transesophageal Echocardiography: Inter- and Intraobserver Variability |
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Authors: | Khoury Zahi Rinat Choni Benhorin Jesaia Stern Shlomo Keren Andre |
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Institution: | Heiden Department of Cardiology, Bikur Cholim Hospital and the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel |
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Abstract: | Atherosclerotic plaques had been imaged but not quantitated in the thoracic aorta using transesophageal echocardiography. The aim of this study was to describe a method for measuring the atherosclerotic plaque area in the descending aorta by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and to evaluate its reproducibility. TEE examinations were performed by two independent sonographers, in 21 patients with angiographically proven coronary artery disease. Two hundred fifty-six transverse segments (mean 12 ± 3 patient) of the descending aorta were adequately recorded. In each segment the plaque and the lumen areas in the half of the aortic segment distant from the transesophageal probe were measured by one reader in the two studies (intersonographer reproducibility). Interreader reproducibility was also evaluated. The correlation coefficient between the first and second study (intersonographer reproducibility) was 0.81. The standard deviation of the difference between examinations equaled 0.137 cm2 and the mean absolute difference between examinations was 0.003 cm2 (95% CI: –0.015; 0.021; P = 0.75). The correlation coefficient between the two readers was 0.86, the standard deviation of the difference between readers was 0.175 cm2 and the mean absolute difference was 0.006 cm2 (95% CI: –0.029; 0.018; P = 0.63). A method for quantitative measurement of aortic atherosclerotic plaque area was evaluated and found to have high intersonographer and intereader reproducibilities. This method might be used in the future for noninvasive evaluation of regression or progression of aortic atherosclerosis. |
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Keywords: | aortic atherosclerosis transesophageal echocardiography plaque area reproducibility |
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