Purpose: Strain derived from speckle-tracking echocardiography is emerging as a useful tool in the assessment of single ventricle function. The purpose of this study is to compare layer-specific longitudinal strain values in children with single, systemic right ventricles (sRV) using two commercially available software platforms (GE EchoPAC (EP) and TomTec (TT)).
Methods: Two readers analyzed two-dimensional longitudinal strain on EP (v 202) and TT (v 2.21.25) in 40 pediatric sRV patients. Intravendor reproducibility and intervendor agreement between layer-specific measurements were assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland-Altman analysis. Absolute difference (AbΔ) and relative mean errors (RME) were calculated. Subgroup comparisons (stratified by age, heart rate (HR), and frames per second (FPS): HR ratio) were made.
Results: Median age was 4.4 years. 32 (80%) patients had hypoplastic left heart syndrome; 19 (48%) were post-Fontan. Intravendor reproducibility was excellent with high ICC (0.86-0.97). AbΔ between readers was small (1.2%-1.5%) with interobserver RME slightly higher for TT (11%-12% vs 8%-9% for EP). Layer-specific intervendor agreement was poor (ICC 0.45-0.62). Default layer comparisons (EP mid vs TT endo) showed good agreement (ICC 0.72-0.77) and less variability (AbΔ 2%, RME 15%) than layer-to-layer. There were no differences in ICC for groups dichotomized by age, HR, or FPS:HR ratio. sRV strain values are more negative when using EP.
Conclusion: Intravendor reproducibility for sRV peak longitudinal strain in children is excellent with acceptable variability between experienced users. Intervendor, layer-specific strain agreement is poor. Vendor default layer strain values show better agreement but are not interchangeable.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/echo.14985 | DOI Listing |
Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging
January 2025
Heart Institute. Department of Cardiology. Cardiovascular Imaging Unit. Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Barcelona, Spain.
Aims: How the underlying etiology and pathophysiology of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy affects LA remodeling and function remains unexplored. The present study aims to investigate the influence of various hypertrophic phenotypes on LA remodeling and function.
Methods And Results: Patients with LV hypertrophy who underwent cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) were compared to a control group.
Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging
January 2025
Department of Cardiology, Istituto Auxologico Italiano, IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Aims: This study evaluates whether multi-chamber myocardial deformation analysis using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) can enhance validated current staging systems and improve risk stratification for patients with moderate-to-severe aortic stenosis (AS).
Methods And Results: We reanalyzed 2D, Doppler, and STE data obtained from two cohorts: derivation (654 patients, median age: 82 years; 51% men) and validation (237 patients, median age: 77 years; 55% men) with at least moderate AS (aortic valve area<1.5 cm2).
Gerontologist
January 2025
Department of Sociology, Yale University, 493 College Street, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
Background And Objectives: The heterogeneity of population-based trajectories of care recipients' (CRs) cognitive functioning and how they are associated with their caregivers' mental health is less studied in the United States. Informed by the stress process model, this study examines the relationship between care recipients' cognitive trajectories and caregivers' depressive symptoms, and the mediating role of caregiving burden.
Research Design And Methods: Data were from the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2011-2020) for 1,086 care recipients and their 1,675 caregivers from the 2021 National Study of Caregiving.
Echocardiography
February 2025
Cardiology Department, Gazi University Hospital, Yenimahalle, Ankara, Turkey.
Background: Idiopathic right bundle branch block (RBBB) is often seen as harmless and common. However, many studies show it might be linked to negative health outcomes. So, it is crucial to fully understand how RBBB affects the heart's ventricles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiome
January 2025
Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Background: Microbial spoilage in meat impedes the development of sustainable food systems. However, our understanding of the origin of spoilage microbes is limited. Here, we describe a detailed longitudinal study that assesses the microbial dynamics in a meat processing facility using high-throughput culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches to reveal the diversity, dispersal, persistence, and biofilm formation of spoilage-associated microbes.
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