Evaluating Left Ventricular Systolic Synchronicity with Real-Time 3D Echocardiography in Newborns

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Neonatal Medicine
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Assessing left ventricular (LV) systolic synchronicity in neonates is vital for understanding myocardial function.
• Normal reference values are needed for accurate clinical interpretation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine normal values of LV systolic synchronicity in the early neonatal period.
• To evaluate the utility of real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) parameters for assessing neonatal LV systolic synchronicity.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 105 newborns using RT3DE.
• Measurement of time to the point of minimal regional systolic volume (Tmsv) in LV segments.
• Calculation of standard deviation (SD) and maximal difference (Dif) of Tmsv from 16, 12, and 6 LV segments, adjusted for R-R interval.

Main Results:

• No significant difference was found among Tmsv-SD parameters calculated from 16, 12, or 6 LV segments.
• Strong correlations were observed between SD and Dif parameters across different segment counts (e.g., Tmsv-6-SD and Tmsv-6-Dif, r=0.83).
• Heart rate showed a negative correlation with Tmsv but did not affect R-R interval-adjusted parameters; age, sex, gestational age, and birth weight had no significant influence.

Conclusions:

• Tmsv-Dif and Tmsv-SD, derived from 16 LV segments using RT3DE, are reliable parameters for evaluating LV systolic synchronicity in normal newborns.
• These RT3DE-derived parameters provide valuable insights into neonatal myocardial function.