Objective: to determine the validity of a clinical diagnosis of systolic dysfunction in somewhat old patients with heart failure and assess the contribution of echocardiography to their management.Objective: to determine the validity of a clinical diagnosis of systolic dysfunction in somewhat old patients with heart failure and assess the contribution of echocardiography to their management. Subjects: 61 somewhat old patients with a diagnosis of heart failure in a geriatric assessment unit setting. Methods: prospective consideration determining sensitivity, specificity and predictive values of a clinical and radiological diagnosis compared with echocardiographic standard. Propos management was compared before and after echocardiography. Results: clinical assessment was highly sensitive (93%) however lacked specificity (32%). Combining radiological and clinical diagnoses increased specificity to 58% Echocardiography revised the lead cardiac diagnosis for 28% of patients and influenced patient management plans for 41% Conclusion: for somewhat old patients with heart failure, echocardiography improves diagnostic accuracy and identifies those patients with potential to benefit from angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. COPYRIGHT 1999 Oxford University Press |
| Home |
