Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular size and function in normal children from infancy to adolescence:...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Echocardiography
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate left ventricular (LV) assessment is crucial in pediatric cardiology.
• Traditional echocardiographic methods may have limitations in quantifying LV function in children.
• Establishing age- and size-specific reference values is essential for pediatric cardiac diagnostics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish normal left ventricular acoustic quantification (AQ) reference values in healthy children from infancy to adolescence.
• To compare AQ-derived cardiac parameters with traditional M-mode and Doppler echocardiographic indices.
• To provide a basis for using AQ in routine pediatric cardiac evaluations.

Main Methods:

• Studied 150 normal, healthy children aged 2 days to 14.5 years.
• Utilized acoustic quantification (AQ) to calculate left ventricular end-diastolic area and volume.
• Compared AQ parameters (peak filling rate, atrial fractional area change) with M-mode and Doppler measurements.

Main Results:

• Left ventricular end-diastolic area and volume by AQ showed linear relationships with body surface area (to the 1.1 and 1.4 powers).
• AQ-derived peak filling rate and atrial fractional area change were significantly higher in neonates compared to adolescents, decreasing with age.
• AQ identified a shorter rapid filling phase duration and lower contribution compared to Doppler; interobserver variability ranged from 8.1% to 18.2%.

Conclusions:

• Established normal reference ranges for pediatric left ventricular AQ parameters related to body surface area and age.
• Demonstrated the utility of AQ in assessing pediatric cardiac function, with distinct age-related changes.
• AQ provides valuable quantitative data for pediatric cardiac assessment, complementing traditional echocardiographic methods.