Normal M mode values in healthy Turkish children

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Cardiology
• Echocardiography
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Accurate assessment of cardiac structures necessitates comprehensive data from large populations.
• Establishing normal reference values is crucial for diagnosing pediatric cardiac conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine normal M-mode echocardiographic values in a substantial cohort of healthy neonates and children.
• To develop reference centile charts for key cardiac measurements based on body weight.

Main Methods:

• Echocardiographic measurements were collected from 1200 healthy children (1 day to 17 years) over two years.
• Key cardiac dimensions including ventricular dimensions, wall thickness, and great vessel diameters were assessed.
• Third-degree polynomial curves were used to minimize statistical noise and establish percentile curves.

Main Results:

• Normal M-mode echocardiographic values were established and presented as centile charts correlated with body weight.
• The data demonstrated a strong correlation between cardiac measurements and body weight across the studied age range.
• Adolescent boys exhibited higher cardiac measurement values compared to other groups.

Conclusions:

• The developed centile charts and tables serve as a valuable tool for interpreting echocardiographic measurements in pediatric patients.
• These references aid in distinguishing normal cardiac findings from abnormalities in neonates, children, and adolescents.