Usefulness of a hand-carried cardiac ultrasound device to detect clinically significant valvular regurgitation in hospitalized patients

Am J Cardiol. 2004 Apr 15;93(8):1069-72. doi: 10.1016/j.amjcard.2003.12.066.

Abstract

The accuracy of a hand-carried cardiac ultrasound (HCCU) device for the diagnosis of valvular regurgitations using color-flow Doppler was assessed. One hundred twenty hospitalized patients with at least mild valvular regurgitation by standard echocardiography were evaluated by 2 cardiologists using HCCU. The HCCU operator identified 99% of clinically significant valvular regurgitations and assessed the severity correctly in 83% of cases. For mild regurgitation, the HCCU sensitivity and specificity were 82% and 93%, respectively, resulting in correct assessments of severity in 71% of cases. HCCU used by trained cardiologists has high sensitivity for the detection and accurate assessment of the severity of clinically relevant valvular regurgitation.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Echocardiography / instrumentation*
  • Female
  • Heart Valve Diseases / diagnostic imaging*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Sensitivity and Specificity