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End-systolic and end-diastolic left atrial volume assessment by two-dimensional echocardiography: a comparison study with magnetic resonance imaging

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Abstract

Background

The left atrial volume (LAV) is an important indicator of the severity of certain diseases, and measuring LAV through the cardiac cycle may enable the evaluation of various left atrium (LA) functional parameters. The results of two-dimensional (2D) echocardiographic LAV measurement methods vary, and no technique is accepted as being optimal.

Objective

This study compared the accuracy of end-systolic and end-diastolic LAV measurements by 2D echocardiography with those obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Methods

Fifty consecutive patients who underwent both echocardiography and MRI due to clinical reasons with nonselective cardiac disease were studied. LAVs by 2D echocardiography were obtained with the prolate ellipsoid (PE), biplane area-length (AL), and modified Simpson’s (MS) methods.

Results

End-systolic and end-diastolic LAVs calculated by each method correlated significantly with MRI results (P < 0.0001). The prolate ellipsoid method provided LAVs that most correlated with MRI results, and the biplane area-length and modified Simpson’s methods provided LAVs with small mean differences (<5 ml) compared to MRI results.

Conclusion

All three methods of 2D echocardiographic LAV measurement provide valuable LAV data, suggesting the possibility of evaluating various LA functional parameters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cardiovascular Division, Institute of Clinical Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8575, Japan

    Kiyoko Uno, Yoshihiro Seo, Tomoko Ishizu, Yasuyuki Oyake, Sadanori Ohtsuka, Shigeyuki Watanabe & Kazutaka Aonuma

  2. Department of Radiology, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Yumiko Tanaka & Manabu Minami

  3. Department of Clinical Laboratory, Tsukuba University Hospital, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Takeshi Inaba, Fumiko Sakamaki, Noriko Iida & Hideki Nakajima

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  1. Kiyoko Uno
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  2. Yoshihiro Seo
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  3. Tomoko Ishizu
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  4. Takeshi Inaba
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  13. Kazutaka Aonuma
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Correspondence to Yoshihiro Seo.

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Uno, K., Seo, Y., Ishizu, T. et al. End-systolic and end-diastolic left atrial volume assessment by two-dimensional echocardiography: a comparison study with magnetic resonance imaging. J Echocardiogr 8, 52–58 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12574-010-0035-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12574-010-0035-z

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