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Published on: February 20, 2017
A morphological study comparing heart size measurement on chest radiograph with echocardiography in local population
1Department of Anatomy, Bolan Medical College, Quetta, Pakistan.
Insights
Chest X-rays can identify enlarged hearts with high specificity, but a normal heart size on X-ray doesn't guarantee normal heart function. This study compared cardiothoracic ratio on X-ray with echocardiography.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Radiology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Cardiomegaly assessment is crucial for cardiovascular health.
- Chest X-ray (CXR) and echocardiography are common diagnostic tools.
- Correlating CXR-derived cardiothoracic ratio with echocardiography provides insights into cardiac size evaluation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate heart size using the cardiothoracic ratio on chest X-ray.
- To correlate chest X-ray findings with echocardiographic measurements.
- To assess the diagnostic performance of chest X-ray in detecting cardiomegaly.
Main Methods:
- A comparative analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted.
- Radiological parameters were measured on posterior-anterior chest X-rays.
- Echocardiographic parameters were assessed using 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography.
- Cardiomegaly presence/absence was modeled and compared between modalities.
Main Results:
- Out of 79 participants, 35.44% had enlarged hearts on CXR and 58.22% on echocardiography.
- Chest X-ray demonstrated a sensitivity of 54.35% and specificity of 90.90% for cardiomegaly.
- The overall accuracy of chest X-ray in identifying enlarged hearts was 69.62%.
Conclusions:
- Chest X-ray, using the cardiothoracic ratio, can detect heart size with high specificity and reasonable accuracy.
- A normal cardiac silhouette on chest X-ray does not exclude abnormal cardiac function.
- Echocardiography remains essential for comprehensive cardiac assessment.
Objective:
To investigate heart size on chest X-ray via cardiothoracic ratio, and to correlate it with echocardiographic measurements.
Methods:
The comparative analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted at the Pakistan Navy Station Shifa Hospital, Karachi, between January 2021 and July 2021. The radiological parameters were measured on chest X-rays posterior-anterior view, and the echocardiographic parameters were measured using 2-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography. The absence or presence of cardiomegaly on both imaging modalities was modelled as a binary categorical variable and compared. Data was analysed using SPSS 23.
Results:
Of the 79 participants, 44(55.7%) were males and 35(44.3%) were females. The mean age of the sample was 52.71±14.54 years. There were 28(35.44%) enlarged hearts on chest X-ray and 46(58.22%) on echocardiography. The sensitivity and specificity of chest X-ray were 54.35% and 90.90%, respectively. The positive and negative predictive values were 89.28% and 58.82%, respectively. The accuracy of chest X-ray in identifying an enlarged heart was 69.62%.
Conclusions:
The cardiac silhouette on a chest X-ray could demonstrate heart size through simple measurements with high specificity and reasonable accuracy. However, a normal heart size on chest X-ray may not have a normal function.
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