Study: Echo with Definity contrast aids in cardiac diagnosis

Lantheus Medical Imaging of North Billerica, MA, says a study from the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Houston reinforces the clinical utility and impact of its echocardiography contrast agent Definity in hospitalized and critically ill cardiac patients.

The study, published in the February 2009 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, was led by Dr. William Zoghbi at DeBakey's Cardiovascular Imaging Institute.

The prospective single-center study found that the use of contrast echocardiography with Definity in technically difficult cases improved endocardial visualization and enhanced cardiac diagnosis, resource utilization, and patient management decisions in more than 600 patients.

Researchers found that the percentage of uninterpretable studies decreased from 11.7% to 0.3% and the number of technically difficult studies decreased from 86.7% to 9.8% after contrast echocardiography.

The study also noted that additional diagnostic procedures were avoided in 32.8% of patients and drug management was altered in 10.4%, with a total impact (procedures avoided, change in drugs, or both) observed in 35.6% of patients.

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