Echocardiographic valvular findings in 20 patients with NBTE who had a TTE followed by a TOE within 72 hours
| Abnormality | TTE (n=20) | TOE (n=20) |
| Patients with thickening | 15 (75.0%) | 19 (95.0%) |
| Patients with vegetations | 10 (50.0%) | 15 (75.0%) |
| Patients with mild-severe regurgitation | 18 (90.0%) | 17 (85.0%) |
| Patients with moderate-severe regurgitation | 10 (50.0%) | 13 (65.0%) |
| Patients with moderate-severe regurgitation related to thickening/vegetation | 10 (50.0%) | 13 (65.0%) |
| Abnormalities of all cardiac valves* | TTE (n=20) | TOE (n=20) | TTE sensitivity (%)† | TTE specificity (%)† |
| Valve thickening | 24 | 30 | 66.7 (20/30) | 92.0 (46/50) |
| Aortic valve thickening | 9 | 11 | 72.7 (8/11) | 88.9 (8/9) |
| Mitral valve thickening | 13 | 15 | 80.0 (12/15) | 80.0 (4/5) |
| Pulmonary valve thickening | 1 | 2 | 0.0 (0/2) | 94.4 (17/18) |
| Tricuspid valve thickening | 1 | 2 | 0.0 (0/2) | 94.4 (17/18) |
| Valve vegetation | 14 | 21 | 47.6 (10/21) | 93.2 (55/59) |
| Aortic valve vegetation | 8 | 9 | 55.6 (5/9) | 72.7 (8/11) |
| Mitral valve vegetation | 3 | 8 | 37.5 (3/8) | 100.0 (12/12) |
| Pulmonary valve vegetation | 2 | 1 | 100.0 (1/1) | 94.7 (18/19) |
| Tricuspid valve vegetation | 1 | 3 | 33.3 (1/3) | 100.0 (17/17) |
| Mild-severe regurgitation | 30 | 35 | 68.6 (24/35) | 86.7 (39/45) |
| Aortic regurgitation | 9 | 9 | 88.9 (8/9) | 81.8 (9/11) |
| Mitral regurgitation | 9 | 12 | 58.3 (7/12) | 87.5 (7/8) |
| Pulmonary regurgitation | 6 | 4 | 75.0 (3/4) | 81.3 (13/16) |
| Tricuspid regurgitation | 6 | 10 | 60.0 (6/10) | 100.0 (10/10) |
| Moderate-severe regurgitation | 14 | 15 | 73.3 (11/15) | 95.4 (62/65) |
| Aortic regurgitation | 6 | 5 | 80.0 (4/5) | 86.7 (13/15) |
| Mitral regurgitation | 6 | 8 | 75.0 (6/8) | 100.0 (12/12) |
| Pulmonary regurgitation | 0 | 1 | 0.0 (0/1) | 100.0 (19/19) |
| Tricuspid regurgitation | 2 | 1 | 100.0 (1/1) | 94.7 (18/19) |
| Moderate-severe regurgitation related to thickening/vegetation | 13 | 14 | 71.4 (10/14) | 95.5 (63/66) |
| Aortic valve | 6 | 5 | 80.0 (4/5) | 86.7 (13/15) |
| Mitral valve | 6 | 8 | 75.0 (6/8) | 100.0 (12/12) |
| Pulmonary valve | 0 | 1 | 0.0 (0/1) | 100.0 (19/19) |
| Tricuspid valve | 1 | 0 | – | 95.0 (19/20) |
*Each patient was evaluated with echocardiography of the mitral, aortic, tricuspid and pulmonary valves.
†TTE sensitivity/specificity was calculated using TEE as the gold standard.
NBTE, non-bacterial thrombotic endocarditis; TEE, transoesophageal echocardiogram; TTE, transthoracic echocardiogram.