In Search of Quality: Echocardiographic Mitral Regurgitation Evaluation Discrepancies
Introduction: Two-dimensional (2D) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) for mitral regurgitation (MR) evaluation plays a vital role in choosing the adequate type of treatment. Considerable undertreatment prevalence suggests a possible knowledge gap. The aim of the present study was to assess physician diagnostic adherence according to clinical echocardiographic guidelines. Methods: 438 echocardiographically confirmed MR cases evaluated by 60 beginner, intermediate, or expert level physicians were enrolled. MR eyeballing tendencies, quantitative method application accuracy, and guideline adherence were analyzed. Results: Main discrepancies were unjustified eyeballing (66.95%; p<0.001), inaccurate application of methods (22.46%, p=0.002), and misinterpretation of diagnostic criteria (10.59%). Female patient gender (p=0.026) and lower physician competence levels (p<0.001) were identified as predictors for eyeballing discrepancy possibility. The latter was also a predictor quantitative method discrepancy (p=0.043). Method choice had the most substantial correlation to discrepancies when determining moderate–severe MR (p<0.001). Conclusions: Echocardiographic evaluation of hemodynamically significant MR discrepant in 53.88% of cases as non-quantitative evaluation of hemodynamically significant MR, methodological inaccuracies, and misinterpretation of diagnostic criteria compile the largest proportion of discrepancies. Female gender, lower physician competence, and downgraded diagnostic method application were the most substantial predictors of discrepancy occurrence.