[Usefulness and limitations of dobutamine stress echocardiography for detection of coronary artery disease].

The value of dobutamine stress echocardiography for detecting coronary artery disease was evaluated in 67 patients with normal left ventricular wall motion at rest who also underwent quantitative angiography. The overall sensitivity and specificity of dobutamine stress echocardiography for detecting coronary artery disease were 83% and 70%, respectively. The sensitivities for detecting multivessel disease and single vessel disease were 92% and 76%, respectively. The sensitivity of dobutamine stress echocardiography was 91% in patients treated without beta-blocker, and 70% in patients treated with beta-blocker (p < 0.001). The relatively low peak heart rate during dobutamine infusion in patients treated with beta-blocker seems to affect the sensitivity of dobutamine stress echocardiography. There were no severe complications during dobutamine infusion. Dobutamine stress echocardiography is a safe and accurate method for detecting coronary artery disease. However, an additional technique to increase peak heart rate in patients treated with beta-blocker such as injection of atropin should be considered.