Table 1.
General and technological results in the Italian echo lab overall and according to volume of activity
| Overall (n = 173) | Low- volume <250 ex/months (n = 53, 31%) | Moderate-volume ex/month 250–550 (n = 62, 36%) | High-volume ex/month >550 (n = 58, 33%) | P-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Italy | 88 (51%) | 16 (30%) | 36 (58%) | 36 (62%) | 0.005 |
| Centre Italy | 32 (18%) | 12 (23%) | 10 (16%) | 10 (17%) | |
| South Italy | 53 (31%) | 25 (47%) | 16 (26%) | 12 (21%) | |
| Echocardiography machines, n | 5.0 ± 3.0 | 3.5 ± 1.8 | 4.0 ± 1.8 | 7.5 ± 4.5 | <0.001 |
| Multivendor | 114 (66%) | 33 (62%) | 35 (56%) | 46 (79%) | 0.02 |
| 3D echocardiography machines/transducer | 2.1 ± 1.5 | 1.5 ± 1.1 | 1.8 ± 1.3 | 2.9 ± 2.0 | <0.0001 |
| Use of 3D transthoracic | 122 (75%) | 29 (55%) | 44 (71%) | 49 (85%) | 0.002 |
| Use of 3D transoesophageal | 146 (84%) | 38 (72%) | 54 (87%) | 54 (95%) | 0.006 |
| Global longitudinal strain, yes | 139 (80%) | 41 (77%) | 46 (74%) | 52 (90%) | 0.08 |
| LV GLS | |||||
| No | 34 (20%) | 12 (23%) | 16 (26%) | 6 (10%) | 0.04 |
| 1–20% | 27 (16%) | 8 (15%) | 13 (21%) | 6 (10%) | |
| 21–49% | 35 (20%) | 13 (25%) | 8 (13%) | 14 (24%) | |
| 50–99% | 48 (28%) | 9 (17%) | 15 (24%) | 24 (41%) | |
| 100% | 29 (17%) | 11 (21%) | 10 (16%) | 8 (14%) | |
| RV GLS | |||||
| No | 89 (51%) | 34 (64%) | 39 (63%) | 16 (28%) | 0.001 |
| 1–20% | 47 (27%) | 10 (19%) | 12 (19%) | 25 (43%) | |
| 21–49% | 23 (13%) | 7 (13%) | 6 (10%) | 10 (17%) | |
| 50–99% | 13 (8%) | 1 (2%) | 5 (8%) | 7 (12%) | |
| 100% | 1 (1%) | 1 (2%) | 0 | 0 | |
| LA GLS | |||||
| No | 90 (52%) | 36 (68%) | 36 (58%) | 18 (31%) | 0.001 |
| 1–20% | 50 (29%) | 11 (20%) | 13 (21%) | 26 (45%) | |
| 21–49% | 22 (13%) | 5 (9%) | 10 (16%) | 7 (12%) | |
| 50–99% | 10 (6%) | 0 | 3 (5%) | 7 (12%) | |
| 100% | 1 (1%) | 1 (2%) | 0 | 0 | |
| 3D transthoracic, yes | 122 (71%) | 29 (55%) | 44 (71%) | 49 (84%) | 0.002 |
| LV 3D | |||||
| No | 57 (33%) | 25 (47%) | 23 (37%) | 9 (16%) | 0.04 |
| 1–20% | 44 (26%) | 12 (23%) | 16 (26%) | 16 (28%) | |
| 21–49% | 30 (17%) | 5 (9%) | 9 (15%) | 16 (28%) | |
| 50–99% | 30 (17%) | 8 (15%) | 10 (16%) | 12 (21%) | |
| 100% | 11 (7%) | 3 (6%) | 4 (6%) | 4 (7%) | |
| RV 3D | |||||
| No | 94 (55%) | 40 (75%) | 37 (60%) | 17 (30%) | 0.0008 |
| 1–20% | 41 (24%) | 6 (11%) | 13 (21%) | 22 (39%) | |
| 21–49% | 21 (12%) | 2 (4%) | 8 (13%) | 11 (19%) | |
| 50–99% | 13 (8%) | 4 (8%) | 3 (5%) | 6 (11%) | |
| 100% | 3 (2%) | 1 (2%) | 1 (2%) | 1 (2%) | |
| LA 3D | |||||
| No | 102 (60%) | 41 (77%) | 35 (57%) | 26 (45%) | 0.04 |
| 1–20% | 45 (26%) | 5 (9%) | 18 (30%) | 22 (39%) | |
| 21–49% | 17 (10%) | 4 (8%) | 7 (12%) | 6 (11%) | |
| 50–99% | 5 (3%) | 2 (4%) | 1 (2%) | 2 (4%) | |
| 100% | 2 (1%) | 1 (2%) | 0 | 1 (2%) | |
| TEE 3D | |||||
| No | 27 (16%) | 15 (28%) | 8 (13%) | 4 (7%) | 0.008 |
| 21–49% | 25 (14%) | 4 (8%) | 11 (18%) | 10 (17%) | |
| 50–99% | 61 (35%) | 20 (38%) | 25 (40%) | 16 (28%) | |
| 100% | 60 (35%) | 14 (26%) | 18 (29%) | 28 (48%) |