Exercise Performance in Pediatric Liver Transplant Recipients and Its Related Cardiac Function

The aim of this study was to evaluate an exercise test in pediatric liver transplant recipients and its relation to their cardiac function. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 58 children who had successfully undergone orthotopic liver transplantation at least 6 months prior to the study, with the same age and gender-matched control group. M-mode, Doppler, tissue Doppler echocardiography and an exercise test were performed for all the participants. The VO₂ values and METS in patients were less than the control (P = 0.001). Left ventricular posterior wall thickness in systole, left ventricular posterior wall thickness in diastole, interventricular septum diameter in diastole, A_T, pulmonary acceleration time, S_T and Ea_T, Aa_M, and S_S had a significant difference between patients and the control group (P value < 0.05). Maximal oxygen consumption (Max VO₂) and metabolic equivalent task (METs) values had a significant correlation with tricuspid valve S parameter (P = 0.018, r = 0.310). Max VO₂ and METs values did not have a significant correlation with the diastolic dysfunction index, such as E/A and E/Ea. In this study, the exercise test showed decreased functional capacity in liver-transplanted children; however, the echocardiographic evaluation did not reveal any definite correlation with systolic or diastolic dysfunction.