Inter-Rater Reliability and Downstream Financial Implications of Electrocardiography Screening in Young Athletes.

Background: Preparticipation screening for cardiovascular disease in young athletes with electrocardiography is endorsed by the European Society of Cardiology and several major sporting organizations. One of the concerns of the ECG as a screening test in young athletes relates to the potential for variation in interpretation. We investigated the degree of variation in ECG interpretation in athletes and its financial impact among cardiologists of differing experience.

[Detection of an intrapulmonary shunt in patients with liver cirrhosis through contrast-enhanced transcranial Doppler. A study of prevalence, pattern characterization, and diagnostic validity].

Introduction: Intrapulmonary vascular dilatations (IPVD) are considered a complication of cirrhosis. The technique of choice for their diagnosis is contrast-enhanced echocardiography (CEE). The aim of this study was to determine the usefulness of contrast-enhanced transcranial Doppler (CETD) in the diagnosis of IPVD.