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Background: In orthotopic heart transplant recipients, surveillance with endomyocardial biopsy is crucial to detect acute cellular rejection (ACR) early. ACR is a common and serious complication of transplantation with substantial morbidity and mortality. Speckle tracking echocardiography with global longitudinal strain (GLS) assessment of the left ventricle has emerged as a possible noninvasive screening modality. We have conducted a systematic literature review and meta‐analysis to evaluate the role of GLS in diagnosing ACR. Methods: The following databases were queried: PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Scopus, and Embase. We compiled all articles evaluating changes in GLS in comparison to endomyocardial biopsy in ACR dated prior to September 2019. Weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled by using a random effects model. In order to determine the risk of bias, we used the revised version of the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS‐2) tool. Results: Twelve studies met inclusion criteria of which ten were chosen. These studies encompassed 511 patients and 1267 endomyocardial biopsies. There was a significant difference in GLS between patients who did and did not have ACR proven by biopsy (WMD = 2.18; 95% CI: 1.57‐2.78, P = <.001; I2 = 76%). The overall sensitivity for GLS in detecting ACR was 78% (CI: 63%‐90%, P =.123; I2 = 52.2%) while the overall specificity was 68% (CI: 50%‐83%, P = <.001; I2 = 88.3%). Conclusion: Global longitudinal strain assessment of the left ventricle by speckle tracking echocardiography is useful in detecting ACR and could potentially reduce the burden of frequent endomyocardial biopsies in heart transplant recipients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) is a well‐established imaging modality used to screen patients with mild‐to‐moderate risk for coronary artery disease. In heart transplantation recipients, cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is a common and lethal complication. The use of DSE to detect CAV showed promising results initially, but later studies showed limitation in its use to detect CAV. It is unclear if this cohort of patients derives benefit from DSE. Methods: We searched PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Embase, and Scopus from inception through March 2018 for studies examining the accuracy of DSE in correlation to coronary angiography (CA) or intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) to detect CAV. Original studies comparing the ability of DSE to detect CAV in comparison with CA or IVUS were included. Relevant data were extracted and hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic analysis was conducted to test the overall diagnostic accuracy of DSE for patients with CAV. Results: Eleven studies (749 participants) met the inclusion criteria. The sensitivity of DSE varied from 1.7% to 93.8%, and specificity, from 54.8% to 98.8%. Pooled sensitivity was 60.2% (95% confidence interval (CI), 33.0%–82.3%) and specificity 85.7% (95% CI, 73.8%–92.7%). DSE had an overall diagnostic odds ratio (OR) of 9.1 (95% CI, 4.6–17.8), positive likelihood ratio (LR+) of 4.1 (95% CI, 2.8–6.1), negative likelihood ratio (LR−) of 0.47 (95% CI: 0.23–0.73), and area under curve (AUC) of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.72–0.75). Heterogeneity among studies was not statistically significant (τ2 = 0.32, Cochran's Q = 9.5, P = 0.483). Conclusion: Dobutamine stress echocardiography has a limited sensitivity to detect early CAV but its specificity is much higher. There remains a need for an alternative noninvasive modality which will have both high sensitivity and high specificity for detecting CAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]