Reproducibility of Gadolinium Enhancement Patterns and Wall Thickness in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND Reproducibility data of the extent and patterns of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is limited. OBJECTIVE To explore the reproducibility of regional wall thickness (WT), LGE extent, and LGE patterns in patients with HCM assessed with cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). METHODS The extent of LGE was assessed by the number of segments with LGE, and by the total LV mass with LGE (% LGE); and the pattern of LGE-CMR was defined for each segment. RESULTS A total of 42 patients (672 segments) with HCM constituted the study population. The mean WT measurements showed a mean difference between observers of -0.62 ± 1.0 mm (6.1%), with limits of agreement of 1.36 mm; -2.60 mm and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.95 (95% CI 0.93-0.96). Maximum WT measurements showed a mean difference between observers of -0.19 ± 0.8 mm (0.9%), with limits of agreement of 1.32 mm; -1.70 mm, and an ICC of 0.95 (95% CI 0.91-0.98). The % LGE showed a mean difference between observers of -1.17 ± 1.2 % (21%), with limits of agreement of 1.16%; -3.49%, and an ICC of 0.94 (95% CI 0.88-0.97). The mean difference between observers regarding the number of segments with LGE was -0.40 ± 0.45 segments (11%), with limits of agreement of 0.50 segments; -1.31 segments, and an ICC of 0.97 (95% CI 0.94-0.99). CONCLUSIONS The number of segments with LGE might be more reproducible than the percent of the LV mass with LGE.