Objective To assess the left ventricular(LV) volumes and function acquired by realtime (RT) three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) versus magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in elderly patients.Methods A total of 31 patients aged≥60 years [mean (72.1±6.6) years] with various cardiovascular diseases were evaluated by MRI versus RT-3DE on the same day.RT-3DE was performed with a Philips iE-33 echocardiographic system,and LV volumes and function were analyzed with the assistance of TomTec software.The results of LV volumes and function obtained by manual tracing were compared with Signa 1.5-T MRI data.The acquisition of RT-3DE datasets was feasible in all 31 patients.Results The average MRI-detected LV end diastolic volume (LVEDV) was (139.1 ±40.8) ml,LV end systolic volume (LVESV) was (77.8±41.7)ml,LV ejection fraction (LVEF) was (47.9±14.3)％.The average RT-3DE-detected LVEDV was (119.5±37.7) ml,LVESV was (65.5±36.1) ml,LVEF was (47.9± 14.3)％.Compared with MRI values,LVEDV was underestimated by RT-3DE (P＜0.01,r=0.79,y=0.73 x+17.8,SEE=23.5 ml),with a mean difference of (-19.6±25.6)ml; LVESV was also underestimated by RT-3DE (P＜0.01,r=0.89,y =0.77 x+ 5.6,SEE=16.8 ml),with a mean difference of(-12.3± 19.1)ml.Ejection fraction determined by MRI was the same as that by RT-3DE (P＞0.05,r=0.91,y=0.75 x+ 13,SEE=5.61％),with a mean difference of (1.1±7.4) ％.There was good interobserver reproducibility in LV volume detected by RT-3D.Conclusions Compared with MRI,RT-3DE has more accuracy and repeatability in assessment of LV volume and ejection fraction in elderly patients.

Objective To assess the accuracy and repeatability of real-time three-dimensional eehoeardiography (RT-3DE) for the measurements of left ventricular (LV) mass in elderly patients compared with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Methods A total of 31 patients (26 men) aged ≥60 years (72.1±6.6) years with various cardiovascular diseases were evaluated by MRI and RT- 3DE on the same day.RT-3DE was performed with a Philips iE-33 echocardiographic system, and LV mass was analyzed with the assistance of TomTec software.The results of LV mass obtained by manual tracing were compared with Signa 1.5-T MRI data.The acquisition of RT-3DE datasets was feasible in all 31 patients.Results A good correlation was observed between RT-3DE data with manual border detection and MRI for LV mass (r=0.869, y=0.943 x+11.69, SE= 19.09 g, P< 0.01), with a mean difference of (4.7±37.7)g.The average LV mass was (123.9±35.0)g (74.4-208.1 g) evaluated by MRI, and was (128.6±37.9)g (67.0-222.9 g) evaluated by RT-3DE.There was good inter- or intra-observer correlation between RT-3DE by two sonographers for LV mass.Conclusions The assessment of LV mass from RT-3DE data is feasible in elderly patients.The mass can be determined with high accuracy and low interobserver variability in elderly patients with adequate eehocardiographic image quality.