Myocardial tissue Doppler velocity imaging in children: comparative study between two ultrasound systems.

BACKGROUND The investigators compared pulsed-wave tissue Doppler (PWTD) and color tissue Doppler (CTD) ventricular tissue velocities obtained using Vivid 7 (GE) and iE33 (Philips) ultrasound systems within a 30-minute time frame and examined interobserver and intraobserver variability. METHODS Longitudinal PWTD and CTD images were prospectively acquired in 49 children from the base of the right and left ventricular free wall and septum and stored for offline analysis. RESULTS Intraobserver and interobserver coefficients of variation for PWTD velocities ranged from 4% to 6% and 5% to 10% for GE and from 1% to 10% and 2% to 14% for Philips, respectively. Intraobserver and interobserver coefficients of variation for CTD velocities ranged from 4% to 15% and 6% to 24% for GE and from 6% to 19% and 7% to 25% for Philips, respectively. Mean biases between the two systems for PWTD velocities, expressed as percentage differences, were around 0%, with the narrowest limits of agreement for systolic velocities at the septal annulus and the widest limits of agreement for early diastolic velocities at the lateral tricuspid valve annulus, respectively. Peak CTD-derived velocities were significantly and consistently lower for Philips compared with GE. CONCLUSIONS Agreement between GE-derived and Philips-derived PWTD velocities was reasonable, whereas CTD-derived velocities differed substantially.