ABSTRACT
Background: Conventional transthoracic (TTE) and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) parameters assessing right ventricle (RV) systolic function are daily used assuming their clinical interchangeability. RV longitudinal shortening fraction (RV-LSF) is a two-dimensional speckle tracking parameter used to assess RV systolic function. RV-LSF is based on tricuspid annular displacement analysis and could be measured with TTE or TEE. Objective: The aim of the study was to determine if RV-LSFTTE and RV-LSFTEE measurements were interchangeable in the perioperative setting. Methods: Prospective perioperative TTE and TEE echocardiography were performed under general anesthesia during scheduled cardiac surgery in 90 patients. RV-LSF was measured by semi-automatic software. Comparisons were performed using Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman plots. RV-LSF clinical agreement was determined as a range of -5 to 5%. Results: Of the 114 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 90 were included. The mean preoperative RV-LSFTTE was 20.4 ± 4.3 and 21.1 ± 4.1% for RV-LSFTEE. The agreement between RV-LSF measurements was excellent, with a bias at -0.61 and limits of agreement of -4.18 to 2.97 %. All measurements fell within the determined clinical agreement interval in the Bland-Altman plot. Linear regression analysis showed a high correlation between RV-LSFTTE and RV-LSFTEE measurement (r = 0.9; confidence interval [CI] 95%: [0.87-0.94], p < 0.001). Conclusion: RV-LSFTTE and RV-LSFTEE measurements are interchangeable, allowing RV-LSF to be a helpful parameter for assessing perioperative changes in RV systolic function. NCT: NCT05404737. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05404737.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This work suggests a fast estimation method of the lateral ventricles volume from a 2D image and then determines if this volume is correlated with the cerebrospinal fluid flow at the aqueductal and cerebral levels in neurodegenerative diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-five elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (19), normal pressure hydrocephalus (13), and vascular dementia (13) were involved and underwent anatomical and phase contrast MRI scans. Lateral ventricles and stroke volumes were assessed on anatomical and phase contrast scans, respectively. A common reference plane was used to calculate the lateral ventricles' area on 2D images. RESULTS: The largest volumes were observed in hydrocephalus patients. The linear regression between volumes and areas was computed, and a strong positive correlation was detected (R² = 0.9). A derived equation was determined to represent the volumes for any given area. On the other hand, no significant correlations were detected between ventricles and stroke volumes (R² ≤ 0.15). CONCLUSION: Lateral ventricles volumes are significantly proportional to the 2D reference section area and could be used for patients' follow-up even if 3D images are unavailable. The cerebrospinal fluid fluctuations in brain disorders may depend on many physiological parameters other than the ventricular morphology.
