Neonatal functional echocardiography

The role of echocardiography has dramatically changed over the past decade and use of functional echocardiography has become increasingly popular among neonatologists and pediatric intensivists in making clinical decisions in sick infants and children. The purpose of this review is to outline the current capabilities and limitations of functional echocardiography, best practices for its clinical application, and evidence for its utility.

Functional echocardiography can provide direct assessment of hemodynamics at bedside and can be used as a modern hemodynamic monitoring tool in the neonatal intensive care unit. It is now being regarded as a useful extension to the clinical examination and other monitoring tools in the critically ill infant. The anatomic, physiological, and hemodynamic information functional echocardiography provides can be used in targeting specific interventions and evaluating response to treatment.

This review article is focused on an overview of the most common applications of functional neonatal echocardiography also called targeted neonatal echocardiography or neonatologist performed echocardiography. It will review assessment of hemodynamics and cardiac function in neonatal hypotension and shock, suspected patent ductus arteriosus, suspected persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn with evaluation of pulmonary artery pressure and assessment of pericardial effusion. It will also emphasize the specific requirements for the practice and training of functional neonatal echocardiography.