[Pulsed Doppler echocardiography in the study of tricuspid valve insufficiency]

The value of pulsed Doppler echocardiography in assessing the presence and severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) has been studied in three groups of subjects, 12 without cardiovascular disease (Group I), 38 with TR (Group II) and 16 patients with aortic and mitral valve disease but no TR (Group III). The presence and severity of TR was also independently evaluated by clinical examination, jugular vein pulse recording and/or hemodynamic investigation. Left parasternal, sub-xyphoid and apical views were adapted for the pulsed Doppler echocardiographic examination. The sample volume was placed in the right atrium at varying distances from the tricuspid valve. We tried to quantitate the degree of TR according to: 1) the diameter and maximal distance from the tricuspid valve of the regurgitant stream, 2) the duration of reguritation through systole, and 3) the degree of turbolence as demonstrated by the time interval histograms. On the basis of above mentioned criteria, three subgroups of subjects with TR, i.e. mild, moderate and severe were recognised. These results were compared to hemodynamic and/or clinical-poligraphic evaluation. In 34 Group II subjects (89%), the Doppler study revealed the presence of TR and allowed an acceptable quantitative assessment. Falsely positive diagnoses were not made in any of the subjects of Group I. Identification of organic TR in patients with atrial fibrillation was possible only when regurgitation was moderate or severe.