Improving the diagnosis of diastolic dysfunction of heart ventricles in newborns by tissue Doppler imaging

Abstract

Background. Tissue Doppler imaging allows improving diagnostic capabilities of ultrasound examination of the heart. In order to improve the diagnosis of myocardial dysfunction of heart ventricles in newborns in the neonatal period, we have performed pulsed-wave tissue Doppler imaging with determination of diastolic dysfunction types. Materials and methods. The study involved 108 healthy infants in the early neonatal period, in whom the diastolic ventricular function markers were determined by tissue Doppler imaging. Results. The study determined the types of diastolic dysfunction. Types of diastolic dysfunction (delayed relaxation, pseudo-normalization, restrictive and undetermined ones) require comparison with the symptoms of cardiovascular dysfunction, taking into account the child’s days of life and the functioning of the open arterial duct, its hemodynamic significance, and also the open foramen ovale with the subsequent decision on patient’s management. Conclusions. It is advi­sable to use all echocardiographic modes (double Doppler method) with a traditional assessment of diastolic profile of transmitral/transtricuspid flow and the movement of fibrous rings according to tissue Doppler imaging findings, which in their entirety will help to assess the degree of myocardial dysfunction.

Keywords

• newborns
• tissue Doppler imaging
• diastolic dysfunction