Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) versus transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in evaluating right ventricular contractibility, as well as the correlation and consistency between conventional measurement method and speckle tracking echocardiography. Methods A total of 49 patients were enrolled in this prospective study, and all patients underwent TTE and TEE simultaneously (with an interval of no more than 24 hours) to measure tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, tricuspid annular plane systolic velocity, and myocardial strain of the right ventricular free wall. Each parameter was determined by both conventional M-type Doppler tissue imaging and speckle tracking echocardiography, and the measured values were compared between TTE and TEE. Results For conventional M-type Doppler tissue imaging, compared with TTE, TEE underestimated tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (12.1±2.8 mm vs 17.2±3.8 mm, P<0.05) and tricuspid annular plane systolic velocity (6.5±2.2 cm/s vs 9.1±2.1 cm/s, P<0.05). Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion measured by speckle tracking showed no significant deviation and a high degree of variability, with a mean deviation of -0.3 mm and a 95% consistency range of -8.7 to 7.9, and strain and strain rate measured by TEE were significantly higher than those measured by TTE (strain: -18.8±3.6 vs -12.8±1.9, P<0.05; strain rate: -1.1±0.2/s vs -0.6±0.1/s, P<0.05). Conclusion There is a high degree of correlation between the parameters of right ventricular contractibility (tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, tricuspid annular plane systolic velocity, and myocardial strain of the right ventricular free wall) measured by TEE and TTE using the conventional method. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion measured by speckle tracking has no deviation, but the difference in the specific data measured should be taken seriously in practical application.

Key words: Right ventricle, Echocardiography, Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, Tricuspid annular plane systolic velocity, Speckle tracking