Association With Outcomes of Correcting the Proximal Isovelocity Surface Area Method to Quantitate Secondary...

Although the correction of the proximal isovelocity surface area (PISA) method has been shown to improve the accuracy of assessing the severity of secondary tricuspid regurgitation (STR), its clinical impact remains to be investigated. The aim of this study was to compare the association of the quantitative parameters of STR severity obtained from the corrected and conventional PISA methods with outcomes.

Both conventional and corrected effective regurgitant orifice area (EROA) (EROA vs corrected EROA [EROAc]), regurgitant volume (RegVol) (RegVol vs corrected RegVol [RegVolc]), and regurgitant fraction (RegFr) (RegFr vs corrected RegFr [RegFrc]) were measured in 519 consecutive patients (mean age, 75 ± 12 years; 44% men; 74% with ventricular STR) with moderate and severe STR. The end point was a composite of heart failure hospitalization and death.

EROAc, RegVolc, and RegFrc were significantly larger than EROA, RegVol, and RegFr (P < .001 for all). After a mean follow-up period of 19 ± 15 months, 210 patients reached the end point. Using time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curves, the parameters obtained from the corrected PISA method were more closely associated with outcomes at 2 years than those obtained with the conventional PISA method: EROAc vs EROA (P < .001), RegVolc vs RegVol (P = .001), and RegFrc vs RegFr (P < .001) for ventricular STR. Conversely, no significant differences were detected for atrial STR. After multivariable adjustment, both uncorrected and corrected EROA, RegVol, and RegFr were independently associated with the end point. Using the new five-grade severity scheme, patients reclassified using the corrected PISA method had a significantly higher rate of events compared with those not reclassified among those with ventricular STR (P = .0086). Conversely, this relationship was not statistically significant in patients with atrial STR (P = .061).

Correcting the PISA method provides larger quantitative parameters of STR severity that are more closely associated with outcomes in patients with ventricular STR.