Table 2.
Activity of cardiology and noncardiology centers
| Cardiology centers (n=179) | Noncardiology centers (n=49) | P | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Archiving imaging, n (%) | |||
| PACS | 123 (69) | 25 (51) | 0.005 |
| Hard disk/CD | 45 (25) | 14 (29) | |
| Nothing | 11 (6) | 10 (20) | |
| Ultrasound units (n, median IQR) | 887, 4 (1-24) | 132, 2 (1-6) | <0.001 |
| Portable ultrasound units (n, median IQR) | 316, 1 (0-12) | 59, 2 (0-4) | <0.001 |
| STE performed, n (%) | 156 (77) | 10 (20) | <0.001 |
| STE not performed, n (%) | 23 (13) | 39 (80) | |
| 3D TTE performed, n (%) | 127 (71) | 10 (20) | <0.001 |
| 3D TTE not performed, n (%) | 52 (29) | 39 (80) | |
| LUS performed, n (%) | 124 (69) | 30 (61) | 0.432 |
| LUS not performed, n (%) | 55 (31) | 19 (39) | |
| TEE examinations (n, median IQR) | 5295, 24 (0-126) | 202, 0 (0-60) | <0.001 |
| TEE performed, n (%) | 152 (85) | 9 (18) | <0.001 |
| TEE not performed, n (%) | 27 (15) | 40 (82) | |
| SE examinations (n, median IQR) | 3869, 10 (0-189) | 188, 0 (0-40) | <0.001 |
| SE performed, n (%) | 166 (93) | 13 (26) | <0.001 |
| SE not performed, n (%) | 13 (7) | 36 (74) | |
| UCA examinations (n, median IQR) | 1921, 8 (0-60) | 111, 1 (0-25) | <0.001 |
| UCA performed, n (%) | 130 (67) | 21 (43) | <0.001 |
| UCA not performed, n (%) | 49 (33) | 28 (57) |
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