Abstract 203: Inter-rater Reliability Of Myocardial Strain Measurements In Comparison With Ejection Fraction In A Rural, Clinical Setting Using Speckle Tracking Echocardiography

Global longitudinal strain (GLS) analysis via speckle tracking echocardiography is a relatively new and promising imaging technology for the assessment of structural and functional abnormalities in the heart. GLS can be used in conjunction with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) as a valuable predictor of left ventricular function. In fact, current data suggest strain to be a more effective indicator for ventricular dysfunction than LVEF. Despite its promise, the use of speckle tracking echocardiography has been limited to robust academic and research institutions due to concerns of reliability in clinical settings. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is that high inter-rater reliability can be obtained in the measurement of mean global longitudinal strain in a non-academic, rural setting. GLS and LVEF were evaluated on twenty-one patients undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment during routine standard-of-care visits. The echocardiograms were performed on each patient by two separate technologists on the same day and the measurements were compared via intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) values. Briefly, higher inter-rater reliability was observed in GLS (ICC 0.895) compared to LVEF (ICC 0.569), suggesting GLS is a reliable and reproducible measure of systolic function.