Smartest Doc
Comparison of doppler-based and three-dimensional methods for fetal cardiac output measurement
Fetal Diagnosis and Therapy, 08/10/2012
Clinical Article
DeKoninck P et al. – Although 3D volume–based cardiac output measurements are reproducible, results obtained with different methods are not interchangeable. SonoAVC and inversion have the highest intra– and interobserver reproducibility. Results of cardiac output measurement by 3D and Doppler cannot be interchanged.
Methods- Fetal combined cardiac output was prospectively measured at 16, 20, and 24 weeks of gestation in 15 uncomplicated pregnancies using Doppler and three different 3D algorithms [virtual organ computer–aided analysis (VOCAL), sonographic automatic volume calculation (SonoAVC), and inversion mode].
- They determined the inter– and intraobserver variability of the 3D techniques and assessed the correlation between Doppler and 3D.
- The 3D techniques showed adequate inter– and intraobserver reproducibility (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.69–0.98), with the best reproducibility for SonoAVC and inversion mode.
- Bland–Altman analysis revealed low bias and relatively good correlations when comparing the 3D methods among each other, albeit with wide 95% confidence intervals.
- Doppler measurement of fetal weight–adjusted combined cardiac output (349.0 ml•min–1•kg–1) yielded significantly higher results than 3D CO measurements (177.2, 160.7, and 174.0 ml•min–1•kg–1 for VOCAL, SonoAVC, and inversion mode, respectively; p < 0.0001) and correlated poorly with the 3D methods.
