Author/Editor     Peček, Jerneja; Koželj, Mirta; Lenasi, Helena; Fister, Petja
Title     Right ventricular function in neonates during early postnatal period
Type     članek
Vol. and No.     Letnik 43, št. 6
Publication year     2022
Volume     str. 1327-1337
ISSN     0172-0643 - Pediatric cardiology
Language     eng
Abstract     Previous echocardiographic studies were mainly focused on preterm infants and early fetal-to-neonatal transition period, whereas little is known about changes in the parameters of the right ventricular (RV) function after 72 h of life. Our aim was to quantitatively characterize potential changes in RV function by echocardiography in healthy term newborns between the third and the seventh day of life. We conducted a prospective observational study in 35 full-term newborns, in whom we performed echocardiographic examinations on the third and the seventh day of life. We assessed RV function, output and afterload and found a significant increase in all tissue Doppler velocities as well as in RV longitudinal strain, a higher mean RV outflow tract velocity time integral and lower myocardial performance index (MPI'), whereas the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, RV filling pattern, and RV outflow tract acceleration time were not significantly different between the third and the seventh day of life. Conclusions: Increased RV systolic and diastolic myocardial velocities, cardiac output and longitudinal deformation and decreased RV MPI' between the third and the seventh day of life point to a reduction of RV afterload and adaptive myocardial maturation in term newborns during this period. Moreover, PW-TDI and 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography seem to be more sensitive for evaluating RV function in comparison with M-mode echocardiography and pulsed-wave Doppler analysis of RV filling.
Keywords     echocardiography
right ventricular function
term newborn
ehokardiografija
delovanje desnega prekata
donošeni novorojenček