Correlation between dobutamine stress transesophageal echocardiography, thallium 201-dipyridamole scintigraphy and coronary angiography in the early detection of myocardial ischemia.

: In order to establish the sensitivity and specificity of transesophageal stress echocardiography with dobutamine (TEE-dobutamine) in the early detection of myocardial ischemia we studied 30 consecutive patients from the Coronary Care Unit (CCU) of the Hospital de Cardiologia, Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI. The results were correlated with thallium-201-dipyridamole scintigraphy (TDS), and coronary angiography. Two groups were formed: Group I-20 patients, 18 females/2 males, aged 37-73 years (mean 55 years) within the first week of myocardial infarction and/or unstable angina; Group II-10 patients, five males/five females, aged 35-65 years (mean 48 years) with atypical chest pain but with high suspicion of CHD. All group I patients, and none of group II, had significant stenoses on coronary angiography. Twenty patients had a positive TDS (18 patients from group I and two from group II). Twenty one patients had a positive test with TEE-dobutamine, 20 from group I and one from group II, which yields a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 90%, positive predictive value of 95% and negative predictive value of 100%.