Current Awareness and Status of Transthoracic Echocardiography in Kumamoto Prefecture　― A Report of the Kumamoto Cardiovascular Echocardiography Standardization Project ―

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Background:There are few reports on current awareness and status of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), including the actual performance rate according to echocardiographic guidelines, in a specific area or region.

Methods and Results:This cross-sectional survey study was conducted in Kumamoto Prefecture from October 2018 to March 2019. There are 366 medical institutions advocating cardiology in Kumamoto Prefecture. Of these, 259 (101 hospitals and 158 clinics) returned questionnaires regarding TTE. In all, 150,570 TTEs were performed in 2017. Of these, 132,771 (88%) were performed in hospitals and 17,799 (12%) were performed in clinics. Physicians performed only 5% of TTEs, whereas sonographers performed 86%. Although the modified Simpson method was performed in 90% of hospitals, 3-dimensional echocardiography was performed in only 2% of hospitals. In addition, the left atrial volume index was not examined in approximately 60% of hospitals, and the mean E/E′ ratio was not examined in 80% of hospitals. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that having a Fellow of the Japan Society of Ultrasonic in Medicine was significantly and independently associated with guideline-oriented TTE (odds ratio 9.43; 95% confidence interval 1.22–72.71, P<0.05).

Conclusions:The rate of echocardiographic measurements performed according to echocardiographic guidelines is exceptionally low in Kumamoto Prefecture. Sufficient dissemination of echocardiographic guidelines may be important in improving this rate.