Quantitative Analysis of Morphology and Function in the Fetal Heart with Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation by Speckle Tracking Imaging

AbstractMorphology and function in a fetal heart with severe tricuspid regurgitation remains challenging. The aim of this study was to assess cardiac morphology and function in fetuses with severe tricuspid regurgitation by fetal heart quantification (HQ) and to assess the practical value of fetal HQ. Clinical information was analyzed for 63 pregnant women who underwent fetal cardiac ultrasonography. The women were divided into those who had a fetus with severe tricuspid regurgitation (n  = 20) and those with a normal fetus (n = 40). The global sphericity index (GSI), fractional area change (FAC), and global longitudinal strain (GLS) of both ventricles and the sphericity index (SI) and fractional shortening (FS) of 24 segments were quantified by fetal HQ using speckle tracki ng imaging. Fetuses with severe tricuspid regurgitation had a significantly lower GSI (1.14 ± 0.10 vs. 1.26 ± 0.08,p <  0.001) and a higher GSI Z-score (-0.98 ± 1.01 vs. 0.25 ± 0.87,p <  0.001) as well as a significantly lower right ventricular FAC (36.50 ± 7.34% vs. 45.19 ± 3.39%,p <  0.001), FAC Z-score (-1.02 ± 1.41 vs. 0.49 ± 0.74,p <  0.001), and GLS (-21.01 ± 5.66% vs. 45.19 ± 3.49%,p <  0.001). The SI and SI Z-score were significantly lower in segments 1–18 of the right ventricle in fetuses with severe tricuspid regurgitation (p <  0.05); furthermore, FS of segments 1–12 and 19–24 and the FS Z-...
Source: Pediatric Cardiology - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research