Evaluation of the Early Effects of Childhood Asthma and Its Treatment on Cardiac Function as Revealed by Two-Dimensional Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography

AbstractThere is minimal information available regarding the early effects of bronchial asthma (BA) and its treatment on cardiac function in children. We used two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) to evaluate cardiac function before and after the treatment of childhood BA. We enrolled 44 children with moderate and severe BA who had not been treated over the preceding 3  months or who were newly diagnosed. All children received the same treatment (that recommended by the Global Initiative for Asthma [GINA] in 2017). All children also underwent transthoracic 2D-STE before treatment and 6 months later. Clinical data were compared before and after treatment. After t reatment, significant increases were evident in right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic strain, as well as the systolic strain rate. Before and after treatment, the RV global longitudinal systolic strains were − 22.8 ± 3.6 and − 25.1 ± 4.5, respectively (p = 0.036); the RV global longitudinal diastolic strains were − 18.5 ± 6.0 and − 21.5 ± 5.2, respectively (p = 0.038); and the RV systolic strain rates were − 1.26 ± 0.4 and − 1.12 ± 0.3, respectively (p = 0.025). After treatment, significant increases were observed in the right atrial (RA) peak longitudinal strain and strain rate. Before and after treatment, the RA peak atrial longitudinal strains were 32.5 ± 10.8 and 44.7 ± 11.2, respectively (p = 0.042) and the RA longi...

Source: Mammalian Genome - August 29, 2022 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research