Multicentre reference values for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging derived ventricular size and function for...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Imaging
• Paediatric Health

Background:

• Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is crucial for assessing paediatric cardiac disease.
• Existing paediatric reference values for ventricular volumes and masses are limited by small sample sizes and methodological inconsistencies.
• Standardized reference values are needed for accurate paediatric cardiac assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish reliable, standardized reference values for biventricular volumes and mass in children using cine steady-state free precession (SSFP) CMR.
• To combine and re-analyze data from previous studies to create a robust, multi-center dataset.
• To develop age- and sex-specific reference curves for paediatric cardiac parameters.

Main Methods:

• A total of 141 healthy children (aged 0.6-18.5 years) from three European centers underwent cine-SSFP CMR.
• Cardiac structures were manually contoured following standardized guidelines for end-diastolic and end-systolic phases.
• Age-related reference curves were generated using the lambda mu sigma method.

Main Results:

• Biventricular volumes and masses were reported, both unindexed and indexed for body surface area, stratified by age and sex.
• Boys generally exhibited ~15% higher biventricular volumes and masses than girls, except in children under 6 years.
• Non-linear age-related relationships were observed for cardiac parameters, with slightly higher left ventricle ejection fraction in boys.

Conclusions:

• This study provides volumetric SSFP CMR reference values for children aged 0-18 years from a large, multi-center cohort.
• These standardized references are valuable for monitoring paediatric cardiac disease and for research applications.
• The developed reference curves facilitate more accurate interpretation of CMR findings in children.