Table 1.
Activity of all centers and the northern, central, and southern centers
| All centers (n=228) | Northern centers (n=112) | Central centers (n=43) | Southern centers (n=73) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archiving imaging, n (%) | |||||
| PACS | 148 (65) | 94 (84) | 21 (49)* | 33 (45)* | <0.001 |
| Hard disk/CD | 59 (26) | 16 (14) | 14 (33) | 29 (40) | |
| Nothing | 21 (9) | 2 (2) | 8 (19) | 11 (15) | |
| Ultrasound units (n, median IQR) | 1019, 4 (1-24) | 522, 4 (1-24) | 188, 4 (1-16) | 309, 4 (1-24) | 0.662 |
| Portable ultrasound units (n, median IQR) | 375, 1 (0-12) | 200, 2 (0-12) | 74, 1 (0-9) | 101, 1 (0-9) | 0.191 |
| Echocardiographic examinations (n, median IQR) | 101,050, 300 (15-3130) | 57,758, 400 (20-3130) | 17,608, 250 (20-1600) | 25,684*, 250 (15-3000) | 0.041 |
| LUS performed, n (%) | 154 (66) | 68 (61) | 31 (72) | 55 (76) | 0.090 |
| LUS not performed, n (%) | 74 (34) | 44 (39) | 12 (28) | 18 (24) | |
| STE performed, n (%) | 166 (73) | 87 (78) | 24 (56)* | 55 (75) | 0.019 |
| STE not performed, n (%) | 62 (37) | 25 (22) | 16 (44) | 18 (25) | |
| 3D TTE performed, n (%) | 137 (60) | 70 (63) | 23 (53) | 47 (64) | 0.090 |
| 3D TTE not performed, n (%) | 91 (34) | 42 (37) | 20 (47) | 26 (46) | |
| TEE examinations (n, median IQR) | 5497, 15 (0-126) | 3053, 15 (0-126) | 1072, 12 (0-100) | 1372, 14 (0-80) | 0.125 |
| TEE performed, n (%) | 161 (71) | 82 (73) | 27 (63) | 52 (71) | 0.442 |
| TEE not performed, n (%) | 71 (39) | 30 (27) | 16 (37) | 21 (39) | |
| SE (n, median IQR) | 4057, 10 (0-189) | 2170, 10 (0-189) | 717, 10 (0-80) | 1170, 10 (0-90) | 0.580 |
| SE performed, n (%) | 179 (79) | 85 (76) | 33 (77) | 61 (83) | 0.661 |
| SE not performed | 49 (21) | 27 (24) | 8 (23) | 11 (17) | |
| UCA (n, median IQR) | 2032, 5 (0-60) | 1070, 5 (0-62) | 717, 5 (0-50) | 608, 5 (0-58) | 0.717 |
| UCA performed, n (%) | 151 (66) | 75 (67) | 28 (65) | 48 (66) | 0.313 |
| UCA not performed, n (%) | 77 (34) | 37 (33) | 15 (35) | 25 (34) |
*P<0.05 versus northern centers. PACS=Picture archiving and communication system, LUS=Lung ultrasound, STE=Speckle tracking-derived myocardial deformation imaging, TTE=Transthoracic echocardiography, 3D=Three dimensional, SE=Stress echocardiography, UCA=Ultrasound contrast agent, IQR=Interquartile range, TEE=Transesophageal echocardiography, CD=Compact disk