title: Different functional cardiac characteristics observed in term/preterm neonates by echocardiography and tissue doppler imaging.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To establish, using echocardiography, color-flow Doppler and tissue doppler imaging (TDI), physiological values of systolic/diastolic indexes in healthy term/pre-term newborns, and to identify how different degrees of maturity influence morpho-functional cardiac alterations during the transitional period.
  
  
  METHODS
  33 term newborns (M = 19, F = 14; gestational ages: 37th-41st week), and 20 pre-term infants (M = 11, F = 9; gestational ages: 31st-36th week) admitted to our department were studied. All infants underwent to clinical and Doppler ultrasound evaluations, carried out by the third to fourth day. Investigations included: M-mode echocardiography, color-flow Doppler and TDI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Term and preterm neonates differed for: interventricular septum and left systolic/diastolic ventricle diameters (p<0.01 and <0.05 respectively); left ventricle posterior wall in systole (p<0.01); shortening and ejection fraction (p<0.05). Color-flow Doppler parameters on the tricuspid (peak E, peak A, ratio E/A; p<0.05) and on the mitral (peak E and E/A ratio; p<0.01) significantly differed between the two groups. Significant differences were also present for basal left ventricular lateral wall and right ventricular lateral wall in the Ew (p<0.01 and <0.05 respectively), Sw peak (p<0.01 and <0.05 respectively), and Ew/Aw (p<0.05). The isovolumetric relax time and the E/Ew measured on the medial mitral annulus also demonstrated significant differences (p<0.01) between the two groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TDI is feasible in preterm neonates and enables assessment of myocardial velocities. With increasing gestational age, higher myocardial velocities and lower E/E' Œ ratios were found. TDI addition to standard neonatal echocardiography may provide further important information about cardiac function.
authors.affiliation: Section of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, School of Medicine, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco Matteo
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ciccone
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Scicchitano
authors.forename: Annapaola
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gesualdo
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sassara
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calderoni
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Di Mauro
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ladisa
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Mauro
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Laforgia
mesh_terms: D003971:Diastole / Q000502:physiology; D004452:Echocardiography; D018618:Echocardiography, Doppler, Color; D018619:Echocardiography, Doppler, Pulsed; D006321:Heart / Q000502:physiology*; D006351:Heart Valves / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D013599:Systole / Q000502:physiology