Two- and three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of superior vena cava, crista terminalis, and right atrial appendage using the right parasternal approach
Department
Medicine
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The noninvasive assessment of superior vena cava (SVC), crista terminalis (CT), and the right atrial appendage (RAA) has clinical implications in determining the right atrium (RA) pressure in adult patients in whom the inferior vena cava cannot be imaged, in planning electrophysiological procedures and for evaluation of thrombi in RA/RAA. It is difficult to image these structures using standard two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (2DTTE), but the right parasternal approach has shown promise in the very few studies published so far. AIM: The aim of this study was to show the feasibility of this approach and its usefulness in qualitative and quantitative assessments of these structures by both 2D and three (3D) TTE in patients with and without known cardiac pathologies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study consisted of 38 adult patients, 17 of whom had cardiac pathologies (Group 1) while the remainder (Group 2) had no evidence of heart disease clinically or by echocardiography. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Both SVC and RAA could be imaged by 2DTTE and 3DTTE in 53% of 40 patients (two separate groups of 20 consecutive patients) studied demonstrating the technical feasibility of this approach. SVC size and collapsibility, CT and RAA size, and RAA fractional shortening were evaluated in both groups by both 2D and 3DTTE. 3DTTE provided incremental value over 2DTTE by its ability to view en face the SVC in short axis and the base of RAA and RAA volumes resulting in more comprehensive assessment of their size and function.
First Page
1919
Last Page
1929
DOI
10.1111/echo.13771
Volume
34
Issue
12
Publication Date
12-1-2017
Medical Subject Headings
Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Atrial Appendage (diagnostic imaging); Echocardiography (methods); Echocardiography, Three-Dimensional; Feasibility Studies; Female; Heart Atria (diagnostic imaging); Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Reproducibility of Results; Vena Cava, Superior (diagnostic imaging); Venous Thrombosis (diagnostic imaging); Young Adult
PubMed ID
29226377
Recommended Citation
Arisha, M. J., Hsiung, M. C., Nanda, N. C., Gupta, A., George, D. C., Elkaryoni, A., Barssoum, K., Mohamed, A. H., & Srialluri, S. (2017). Two- and three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiographic assessment of superior vena cava, crista terminalis, and right atrial appendage using the right parasternal approach. Echocardiography (Mount Kisco, N.Y.), 34 (12), 1919-1929. https://doi.org/10.1111/echo.13771