Prevalence and quantification of left ventricular trabeculation detected by cardiac MR imaging in non-ischaemic primary or secondary cardiomyopathies

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the prevalence and the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of left ventricular (LV) trabeculation in patients with non-ischaemic primary or secondary cardiomyopathies using detailed cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis and to ascertain whether left ventricular trabeculations are related to global systolic LV function in different cardiomyopathies. Material and Methods: One hundred and twenty four patients were studied using cardiac MRI, 10 with isolated left ventricular non-compaction (ILVNC), 24 with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), 27 with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), 22 with cardiac sarcoidosis and 20 with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). Twenty one patients with acute onset of myocarditis and no prior or familial history of cardiac disease served as controls. Results: Myocardial trabeculations were frequent in cardiomyopathies and were significantly greater in ILVNC and more frequent and extensive at apical segments in all study groups. Considerable overlapping of trabeculation measures among the other than ILVNC study groups was also found. Trabeculation measures did not negatively correlate with LV ejection fraction (EF) except in sarcoidosis, where end-diastolic (ED) trabeculation thickness at the apical segments (p=0.006), trabeculation thickness on short axis view (p=0.005), trabecular area (p=0.021) and number of trabeculated segments (p=0.038) negatively correlated with LV EF. Conclusions: Two dimensional and volumetric trabeculation parameters in cardiac MRI show considerable overlapping among primary and secondary cardiomyopathies but are greater in ILVNC. Cardiac sarcoidosis was the only disease in our study in which thickness-based trabeculation measures, trabecular area and number of trabeculated segments were negatively correlated with LV EF.