심장초음파 검사자 간의 폐동맥고혈압 진단 측정값 일치도 분석 연구 = Study on the Agreement Values of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Measured by Cardiac Sonographers

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Echocardiography is a non-invasive method that is useful for diagnosing pulmonary arterial hypertension. It is known that echocardiography depends on the experience, education, and knowledge level of the cardiac sonographer. This study aimed to compare the agreement values between cardiac sonographer with different practical experiences in the diagnosis of pulmonary arterial hypertension using echocardiography. Three readers re-evaluated the echocardiography images of 148 patients who were diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension at the S Medical Center from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020. The echocardiography values measured by each reader were compared and analyzed. The results of the analysis of discrete variables revealed that the agreement values of the cardiac sonographers showed excellent consistency for both reader 3 and the cardiologist group, indicating that more experience leads to better predictive accuracy for diagnosis of the condition.
Furthermore, in terms of continuous variables, all the cardiac sonographer demonstrated good agreement in the measured values of the right atrium, which was easier to assess and clearer than the structurally complex measurements of the right ventricle. This study represents the first analysis in Korea of the agreement values measured by medical technologists who are cardiac sonographers.