Aortic dimensions by multi-detector computed tomography vs. echocardiography

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Radiology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Clinical follow-up of aortic dimensions is crucial for managing cardiovascular diseases.
• Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) and cardiac echocardiography (ECHO) are interchangeably used for aortic dimension assessment.
• Variability in measurements between imaging modalities can impact clinical decisions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the relationship between aortic diameter measurements obtained by MDCT and ECHO.
• To compare different measurement methods (internal-to-internal, internal-to-external, external-to-external) across both modalities.
• To determine the optimal method for consistent aortic dimension follow-up.

Main Methods:

• 49 patients underwent both MDCT and ECHO for aortic diameter measurement.
• Measurements were taken at 6 locations from the aortic annulus to the aortic arch.
• Three edge-to-edge measurement methods were applied: internal-to-internal (INT), internal-to-external (MIX), and external-to-external (EXT).

Main Results:

• Significant differences in average aortic diameter were observed between MDCT and ECHO across all three measurement methods (p<0.002).
• The MIX method demonstrated the smallest absolute difference in aortic diameter measurements between MDCT and ECHO (3.1±2.8mm).
• Differences between INT and EXT methods were similar, but significantly larger than the MIX method (p<0.001 for INT vs. MIX; p<0.05 for EXT vs. MIX).

Conclusions:

• Considerable variability exists in ascending aorta measurements between MDCT and ECHO.
• The internal-to-external edge (MIX) measurement method yields the closest agreement between the two modalities.
• The MIX method is recommended for consistent long-term follow-up of aortic dimensions.