Navas E Viviana, McCalla-Lewis Andrea, Fernandez Bernardo B, Pinski Sergio L, Novaro Gian M, Asher Craig R
E Viviana Navas, Andrea McCalla-Lewis, Sergio L Pinski, Gian M Novaro, Craig R Asher, Department of Cardiology, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, FL 33327, United States.
World J Cardiol. 2012 Feb 26;4(2):31-5. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v4.i2.31.
To study the interobserver variability between a cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist in the screening of the abdominal aorta during transthoracic echocardiography (TTE).
Consecutive patients, > 55 years of age, underwent abdominal aortic imaging following standard TTE. Two cardiologists and one vascular medicine specialist performed a blinded review of the images. Interobserver agreement of abdominal aortic size was determined by the correlation coefficient and paired t test. Interobserver reliability for each cardiologist was assessed using Bland-Altman plots.
Ninety patients were studied. The mean age of patients was 72 ± 10 years and 48% were male. The mean aortic diameter was 2.31 ± 0.50 cm and 5 patients (5.5%) had an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). The additional time required for the abdominal aortic images was 4.4 ± 0.9 min per patient. Interobserver agreement between the 2 cardiologist interpreters and the vascular medicine specialist was excellent (P > 0.05 for all comparisons). On Bland-Altman analysis of interobserver reliability, the 95% lower and upper limits for measurement by the cardiologists were 84% and 124% of that of the vascular specialist.
The assessment of the abdominal aorta during a routine TTE performed by a cardiologist is accurate in comparison to that of a vascular medicine specialist. In selected patients undergoing TTE, the detection rate of AAA is significant. Additional time and effort required to perform imaging of the abdominal aorta after TTE is less than 5 min.
研究心脏病专家与血管医学专家在经胸超声心动图（TTE）检查期间对腹主动脉筛查的观察者间变异性。
年龄大于55岁的连续患者在标准TTE检查后接受腹主动脉成像。两名心脏病专家和一名血管医学专家对图像进行了盲法评估。通过相关系数和配对t检验确定腹主动脉大小的观察者间一致性。使用Bland-Altman图评估每位心脏病专家的观察者间可靠性。
共研究了90例患者。患者的平均年龄为72±10岁，48%为男性。平均主动脉直径为2.31±0.50 cm，5例患者（5.5%）患有腹主动脉瘤（AAA）。每位患者获取腹主动脉图像所需的额外时间为4.4±0.9分钟。两位心脏病专家解释者与血管医学专家之间的观察者间一致性极佳（所有比较的P>0.05）。在对观察者间可靠性进行Bland-Altman分析时，心脏病专家测量的95%下限和上限分别为血管专家测量值的84%和124%。
与血管医学专家相比，心脏病专家在常规TTE检查期间对腹主动脉的评估是准确的。在接受TTE检查的特定患者中，AAA的检出率显著。TTE检查后进行腹主动脉成像所需的额外时间和精力少于5分钟。
