Fluoroscopy versus Transthoracic Echocardiography for Detection of Mitral Valve Calcification in Patients Undergoing Percutaneous Mitral Balloon Valvuloplasty

Objectives: Rheumatic heart disease remains a significant problem in developing countries, with mitral stenosis (MS) being a frequent manifestation. The objective of this study was to compare transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) findings of mitral valve calcification with fluoroscopy. Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the department of adult cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) Karachi. All patients were candidates for percutaneous mitral balloon valvuloplasty (PMBV), aged between 15 to 65 years of either gender. Patients who underwent TTE were subjected to fluoroscopy before PMBV. The Kappa coefficient was calculated to assess the agreement between the two modalities. An appropriate t-test or Mann-Whitney U test was applied, and a p-value ≤ 0.05 was taken as the criterion for statistical significance. Results: A total of 160 patients were included in this study with a mean age of 34.01± 12.32 years, 119 (74.4%) were between 18 to 40 years of age, and 108 (67.5%) were female. Calcification was observed in 40.6% (65) on echocardiography and 50.6% (81) of the patients on fluoroscopy. A substantial agreement was observed between the two modalities with a Kappa coefficient of 0.75 for the detection of calcification. Conclusion: No significant difference was observed in the detection of calcification on echocardiography and fluoroscopy, along with a substantial agreement between the two modalities for the detection of calcification. Echocardiography can be a less invasive alternative to fluoroscopy for the detection of calcification before PMBV.