Diagnostic accuracy of new handheld echocardiography with Doppler and harmonic imaging properties.

BACKGROUND: The first generation of handheld echocardiography devices was evaluated with divergent results because of inherent technical limitations. New handheld devices with continuous/pulsed wave Doppler and tissue harmonic imaging were introduced recently. In this study, comparisons were drawn among standard echocardiography, invasively measured systolic pulmonary artery pressure, and these new devices.

OBJECTIVE: We sought to evaluate new handheld echocardiography and its diagnostic accuracy compared with standard echocardiography.

METHODS: Two consecutive echocardiographic examinations were performed by experienced and independent examiners using handheld and standard echocardiography. Systolic pulmonary artery pressure was measured by Swan-Ganz catheter.

RESULTS: In all, 177 (56.2%) patients had normal cardiac function; 138 (43.8%) had underlying cardiac pathology. Handheld echocardiography had an overall agreement of 94.8% and kappa of 0.89 to detect the main echocardiographic finding. Handheld echocardiography detected valve disease with an agreement of 96.7% and kappa of 0.93; global left ventricular function was assessed correctly in 85.6% of cases. Pericardial effusion was diagnosed with an agreement of 91.2%. Dyssynergy was found by handheld echocardiography with an agreement of 95.4% and kappa value of 0.88. Systolic pulmonary artery pressure measured by handheld echocardiography and Swan-Ganz catheter had a correlation of 0.97.

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the high diagnostic accuracy of handheld devices with continuous/pulsed wave Doppler and harmonic imaging, and that these devices broaden the diagnostic spectrum while allowing for enhanced mobility in everyday clinical applications.