Evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction by a new automatic tool on a pocket ultrasound device: Concordance study with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Abstract

Assessment of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) is one of the primary objectives of echocardiography. The gold standard assessment technique in emergency medicine is eyeballing. A new tool is now available on pocket ultrasound devices (PUD): automatic LVEF. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the concordance between LVEF values estimated by automatic LVEF with PUD and by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This was a prospective, monocentric, and observational study. All adult patients with an indication for cardiac MRI underwent a point-of-care ultrasound. Blinded to the MRI results, the emergency physician assessed LVEF using the automatic PUD tool and by visual evaluation. Sixty patients were included and analyzed. Visual estimation of LVEF was feasible for all patients and automatic evaluation for 52 (87%) patients. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient between automatic ejection fraction with PUD and by cardiac MRI was 0.23 (95% CI, 0.03-0.40). Concordance between LVEF estimated by the automatic ejection fraction with PUD and LVEF estimated by MRI was non-existent.