Predictors of in-hospital mortality in acute decompensated heart failure (Thai ADHERE).

BACKGROUND: Heart failure had emerged as a major public health problem and became the leading cause of hospitalization. The Acute Decompensated Heart Failure National Registry (ADHERE) of US patients hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of acute decompensated heart Failure (ADHF) had been reported worldwide for the risk stratification and predicting In-hospital mortality. OBJECTIVE: Identify clinical risk factors or treatment procedures that could predict In-hospital mortality in Thai patients with ADHF. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thai ADHERE is a multicenter, observational, prospective study. The data were collected via web-based electronic data capture and analyzed. Two thousand forty one hospitalization episodes involving 1,671 patients in the 18 participating hospitals between March 2006 and September 2007 were analyzed. All clinical factors associated with In-hospital mortality identified by univariated analysis were further analyzed by Logistic regression model. RESULTS: One hundred thirteen patients died during the hospitalization period with overall mortality rate of 5.5%. Systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL, history of stroke/TIA, and NYHA class IV were independent risk factors for In-hospital mortality with adjusted OR (95% CI) = 3.45 (1.77-6.79), 1.99 (1.30-3.05), 1.85 (1.11-3.08) and 1.69 (1.08-2.64) respectively. Hypertensive cause of CHF, prior use of lipid lowering drug, and hemoglobin level were associated with lower risk, adjusted OR (95% CI) = 0.35 (0.15-0.81), 0.51 (0.34-0.78) and 0.90 (0.82-0.98) respectively. CONCLUSION: The clinical predictors for In-hospital mortality of Thai ADHERE that associated with worse outcome were systolic blood pressure < 90 mmHg, creatinine > 2.0 mg/dL, history of stroke/TIA, and NYHA class IV. Hypertensive cause of CHF, prior use of lipid lowering drug, and hemoglobin were associated favorable outcome.

Usefulness of live/real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in evaluation of prosthetic valve function.

We studied 31 patients with prosthetic valves (PVs) using two-dimensional and three-dimensional transthorathic echocardiography (2DTTE and 3DTTE, respectively) in order to determine whether 3DTTE provides an incremental value on top of 2DTTE in the evaluation of these patients. With 3DTTE both leaflets of the St. Jude mechanical PV can be visualized simultaneously, thereby increasing the diagnostic confidence in excluding valvular abnormalities and overcoming the well-known limitations of 2DTTE in the examination of PVs, which heavily relies on Doppler. Three-dimensional transthorathic echocardiography provides a more comprehensive evaluation of PV regurgitation than 2DTTE with its ability to more precisely quantify PV regurgitation, in determining the mechanism causing regurgitation, and in localizing the regurgitant defect. Furthermore, 3DTTE is superior in identifying, quantifying, and localizing PV thrombi and vegetations, in addition to the unique feature of providing a look inside mass lesions by serial sectioning. These preliminary results suggest the superiority of 3DTTE over 2DTTE in the evaluation of PVs and that it provides incremental knowledge to the echocardiographer.

Comparative assessment of left atrial appendage by transesophageal and combined two- and three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to compare the utility of combined two-dimensional (2D) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and three-dimensional (3D) TTE versus 2D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in evaluation of the left atrium (LA) and LA appendage (LAA) for clot. BACKGROUND: 2DTEE, usually performed to visualize the LAA, is semi-invasive and not without risks. With improved technology the LAA has been increasingly visualized by 2DTTE and 3DTTE in many patients. METHODS: We compared combined 2DTTE and 3DTTE with 2DTEE in evaluating the LA/LAA for a thrombus. Ninety-two patients underwent 2DTTE, 3DTTE, and 2DTEE. An additional 20 patients, in whom TEE could not be performed, underwent 2DTTE and 3DTTE. RESULTS: LA and LAA could be visualized in all patients. Of 92 patients studied, 74 had no thrombus and 7 had thrombus in the LAA by all modalities. Eleven patients, 9 with atrial fibrillation (AF), had a suspected thrombus by 2DTEE, but 3DTTE cropping clearly showed these to be prominent pectinate muscles which were seen in short axis on 2DTEE as rounded echo dense masses and therefore mimicked thrombi. These 9 patients with AF underwent successful cardioversion without any complications. Of the 20 patients in whom TEE could not be performed, 19 had no thrombus in the LA/LAA and 1 had a clot in the LAA. These 19 patients underwent successful cardioversion without complications. CONCLUSIONS: Our preliminary study suggests that combined 2DTTE and 3DTTE has comparable accuracy to TEE in evaluating the LA and LAA for thrombus. In some patients TEE, but not 3DTTE, may misdiagnose pectinate musculature as thrombus.

Effect of alcohol-induced septal ablation on left atrial volume and ejection fraction assessed by real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Alcohol-induced septal ablation (AISA) is an accepted treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with left ventricular (LV) outflow obstruction who are unresponsive to medical therapy. As left atrial (LA) enlargement has been correlated with increased morbidity and mortality in HCM, we assessed LA volumes and ejection fraction (EF) prior to and after AISA using real time three-dimensional (3D) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in 12 patients (9 women; mean age 52 +/- 15 years; 11 Caucasian). All patients underwent successful AISA with no complications and their resting left ventricular outflow gradients decreased from 40.5 +/- 22.2 to 9.1 +/- 17.6 mmHg (P < 0.001) while their gradients with provocation decreased from 126.2 +/- 31.7 to 21.8 +/- 28.0 mmHg (P < 0.001). All patients showed improvements in their New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class. Both the LA end-systolic (45.2 +/- 12.9 to 37.2 +/- 13.7 ml, P < 0.0001) and end-diastolic (79.6 +/- 18.9 to 77.1 +/- 18.6 ml, P = 0.001) volumes decreased after AISA. The LA EF increased from 43.1 +/- 9.0 to 52.5 +/- 8.8% (P = 0.001). The increase in LA EF correlated with the decrease in the resting left ventricular outflow gradient (R =-0.647, P = 0.03). In conclusion, 3D echocardiography can be utilized to follow LA function after AISA for HCM. AISA results in clinical improvement in patients with HCM and in improvement of LA EF that is correlated with the decrease in the left ventricular outflow gradient.

Live/real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of pulmonary regurgitation.

There is no gold standard for the measurement of pulmonary regurgitation (PR) severity. Two-dimensional (2D) transthoracic echocardiography is most commonly used to quantify PR severity using color Doppler criteria for aortic regurgitation. However, this method is limited by visualization of only one or two dimensions of the proximal PR jet or vena contracta (VC) precluding accurate assessment of its shape or size. This limitation would be expected to be obviated by three-dimensional (3D) transthoracic echocardiography, which could provide a more accurate quantitative assessment of PR severity. This study evaluated 82 adult patients with PR using 2D and 3D. PR VC area by 3D was obtained by planimetry by positioning the cropping plane exactly parallel to the VC, which was viewed en face by cropping of the 3D data set. Regurgitant volumes were calculated by 2D (assuming a circular VC) and by 3D as a product of the VC and velocity time integral obtained by color Doppler-guided conventional Doppler interrogation of the PR jet.The 3D VC area correlated with 2D jet width (JW)/right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) width (r = 0.71) and 2D VC area (r = 0.79). 3D JW/RVOT width correlated with 2D JW/RVOT (r = 0.87). 3D regurgitant volumes also correlated with 2D regurgitant volumes (r = 0.76). The 3D VC values of <0.20, 0.20-0.45, 0.46-1.15, and >1.15 cm(2) and regurgitant volumes of <15 ml, 15-50 ml, 51-115 ml, and >115 ml were effective as cutoffs for grades 1, 2, 3, and 4 PR, respectively. In conclusion, quantification of 3D VC area and regurgitant volumes correlate reasonably well with the current 2D methods for measurement of PR. Since 3D visualizes PR VC in three dimensions, it would be expected to provide a more accurate and more quantitative assessment of PR severity as compared to 2D.

Live/real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic findings in primary left atrial leiomyosarcoma.

We describe an adult patient with a primary left atrial leiomyosarcoma in whom live/real time three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed echolucent areas within the mass consistent with necrosis or hemorrhage surrounded by dense band-like echo densities indicative of fibrosis or collagen giving a "doughnut" like appearance. These findings were consistent with histopathology, which showed areas of necrosis and dilated vascular channels within the fibrotic tumor. Our case further illustrates the usefulness of three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography in characterizing the morphologic features of an intracardiac mass.