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A practical guideline for performing a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram in adults: the British Society of Echocardiography minimum dataset

Echo Research & Practice volume 7, pages G59–G93 (2020)Cite this article

Abstract

Since cardiac ultrasound was introduced into medical practice around the middle twentieth century, transthoracic echocardiography has developed to become a highly sophisticated and widely performed cardiac imaging modality in the diagnosis of heart disease. This evolution from an emerging technique with limited application, into a complex modality capable of detailed cardiac assessment has been driven by technological innovations that have both refined ‘standard’ 2D and Doppler imaging and led to the development of new diagnostic techniques. Accordingly, the adult transthoracic echocardiogram has evolved to become a comprehensive assessment of complex cardiac anatomy, function and haemodynamics. This guideline protocol from the British Society of Echocardiography aims to outline the minimum dataset required to confirm normal cardiac structure and function when performing a comprehensive standard adult echocardiogram and is structured according to the recommended sequence of acquisition. It is recommended that this structured approach to image acquisition and measurement protocol forms the basis of every standard adult transthoracic echocardiogram. However, when pathology is detected and further analysis becomes necessary, views and measurements in addition to the minimum dataset are required and should be taken with reference to the appropriate British Society of Echocardiography imaging protocol. It is anticipated that the recommendations made within this guideline will help standardise the local, regional and national practice of echocardiography, in addition to minimising the inter and intra-observer variation associated with echocardiographic measurement and interpretation.

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Acknowledgments

Andrew Martin BSc, Laura Money BSc and Kerry Ladds BSc (North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust) are recognised for their contributions in the development of this guideline and for providing images used within.

Funding

This work did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sector.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, UK

    Shaun Robinson MSc & Rebecca Schofield MBChB

  2. Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK

    Bushra Rana MBBS

  3. Liverpool John Moores University, Research Institute for Sports and Exercise Science, Liverpool, Merseyside, UK

    David Oxborough PhD

  4. University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Trust and Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, West Midlands, UK

    Rick Steeds MBBS

  5. Kings College NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK

    Mark Monaghan PhD

  6. University Hospital South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK

    Martin Stout PhD & Keith Pearce

  7. East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, Essex, UK

    Allan Harkness MSc

  8. West Suffolk Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, UK

    Liam Ring MBBS

  9. University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Maria Paton MSc

  10. Lincolnshire Heart Centre, United Lincoln Hospitals NHS Trust, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK

    Waheed Akhtar MSc

  11. University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, Bristol, UK

    Radwa Bedair MD

  12. St Bartholomew’s Hospital, London, UK

    Sanjeev Bhattacharyya MD

  13. InHealth Group, Buckinghamshire, UK

    Katherine Collins MSc

  14. University Hospitals of the North Midlands, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, UK

    Cheryl Oxley BSc

  15. Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Leeds, UK

    Julie Sandoval MA

  16. Portsmouth, UK

    Anjana Siva PhD

  17. East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, Stevenage, Hertfordshire, UK

    Karen Parker

  18. Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, Bath, UK

    James Willis PhD & Augustine Daniel X MD

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  1. Shaun Robinson MSc
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  2. Bushra Rana MBBS
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Correspondence to Shaun Robinson MSc.

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Robinson, S., Rana, B., Oxborough, D. et al. A practical guideline for performing a comprehensive transthoracic echocardiogram in adults: the British Society of Echocardiography minimum dataset. Echo Res Pract 7, G59–G93 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1530/ERP-20-0026

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Echo Research & Practice

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