QUANTIFICATION OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC BURDEN IN THE DESCENDING AORTA BY TRANSESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY - INTEROBSERVER AND INTRAOBSERVER VARIABILITY

Atherosclerotic plaques had been imaged but not quantitated in the tho racic aorta using transesophageal echocardiography. The aim of this st udy was to describe a method for measuring the atherosclerotic plaque area in the descending aorta by transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and to evaluate its reproducibility. TEE examinations were performed by two independent sonographers, in 21 patients with angiographically proven coronary artery disease. Two hundred fifty-six transverse segme nts (mean 12 +/- 3 patient) of the descending aorta were adequately re corded. In each segment the plaque and the lumen areas in the half of the aortic segment distant from the transesophageal probe were measure d by one reader in the two studies (intersonographer reproducibility). Interreader reproducibilty was also evaluated. The correlation coeffi cient between the first and second study (intersonographer reproducibi lity) was 0.81. The standard deviation of the difference between exami nations equaled 0.137 cm(2) and the mean absolute difference between e xaminations was 0.003 cm(2) (95% CI: -0.015; 0.021; P = 0.75). The cor relation coefficient between the two readers was 0.86, the standard de viation of the difference between readers was 0.175 cm(2) and the mean absolute difference was 0.006 cm(2) (95% CI: -0.029; 0.018; P = 0.63) . A method for quantitative measurement of aortic atherosclerotic plaq ue area was evaluated and found to have high intersonographer and inte reader reproducibilities. This method might be used in the future for noninvasive evaluation of regression. or progression of aortic atheros clerosis. (ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY, Volume 15, January 1998).