[Efficacy of cardiac monitoring with echocardiography in adult patients receiving adriamycin].
The usefulness of adriamycin is limited by its cardiotoxicity. The purpose of the present study was to examine the usefulness of sequential monitoring of cardiac function of patients undergoing adriamycin therapy. In this cardiologic monitoring procedure a baseline echocardiogram should be obtained when the cumulative adriamycin dose was between 450 mg/m2 and 550 mg/m2. Subsequent echocardiograms should be obtained for every increase of 100 mg/m2 after the baseline study. Adriamycin was withheld when the left ventricular ejection fraction fell below 58%. This protocol was performed in 128 adult patients who received adriamycin at Niigata Cancer Center Hospital between 1995 and 2001. Forty-seven adult patients were able to tolerate more than 550 mg/m2 of adriamycin under this protocol. None of the 128 adult patients developed congestive heart failure when this protocol was used. This cardiologic monitoring procedure can be useful in adult patients receiving adriamycin.