Abstract
Background
Assessment of right ventricular (RV) systolic function is not an easy task. Although RV fractional area change (FAC) and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) are useful in the assessment of RV function, their use can be sometimes limited. Right ventricular outflow tract systolic excursion (RVOT_SE) is a new way to evaluate RV systolic function. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between RVOT_SE and other RV systolic function assessment methods.
Methods
RVOT_SE was defined as the systolic excursion of the RV outflow tract anterior wall endocardium. A total of 104 patients with a wide range of RV systolic function, ejection fraction, and pulmonary artery systolic pressure were studied. We also measured another four ways to evaluate RV systolic function, FAC, TAPSE, right ventricular outflow tract fractional shortening (RVOT_FS), and tricuspid annular systolic excursion velocity S′ (Tissue S′).
Results
There was a strong correlation between RVOT_SE and each one of the four studied ways to evaluate RV systolic function. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the independent variables correlated with RVOT_SE were RVOT_FS (p < 0.0001), FAC (p = 0.005) and TAPSE (p = 0.023). RVOT_SE diagnosed patients with reduced RV systolic function with 98 % sensitivity and 96 % specificity. There was no correlation between RVOT_SE and ejection fraction, or between RVOT_SE and pulmonary artery systolic pressure in patients with reduced RV systolic function. Intra-observer and inter-observer reproducibility were favorable for RVOT_SE and all four studied ways.
Conclusions
RVOT_SE is a simple, accurate, and promising method for evaluating RV systolic function.
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Conflict of interest
Farhood Alsoos, Mohammad Almobarak, and Hussam shebli declare that they have no conflicts of interest, including any financial relationships with industrial echocardiograph companies or lecture fees.
Human rights statements and informed consent
All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and later versions. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.
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Alsoos, F., Almobarak, M. & Shebli, H. Right ventricular outflow tract systolic excursion: a useful method for determining right ventricular systolic function. J Echocardiogr 12, 151–158 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12574-014-0229-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12574-014-0229-x