title: Mid-term differences in right ventricular function in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia compared with controls.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) may have abnormal lung development, which may cause detrimental effects on right ventricular (RV) function. This study aimed to determine if there are persistent echocardiographic differences in RV function in patients with CDH years after repair versus control patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who underwent repair for CDH were recruited. RV function was evaluated by strain analysis and tissue Doppler imaging (TDI). Wilcoxon's rank-sum test was used for analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seven CDH patients and 16 control patients were studied. There was no difference in age between the CDH and control groups (6.2±1.7 years vs. 5.7±1.7 years). TDI demonstrated significantly lower values in the RV early diastolic wave (12.8±1.5 cm/s vs. 16.1±3.1 cm/s) and RV systolic wave (10.2± 0.8cm/s vs. 13.4±1.3 cm/s) when comparing the CDH group and the control group. Interventricular apical septal strain was signifi cantly lower in the CDH group than in the control group (-20.1±4.6% vs. -25.4±4.1%). There was a trend towards lower strain values in the RV mid-lateral segment in the CDH group (-30.8±9.9% versus -39.7±6.0%, P=0.06) and a lower global RV strain (-27.8±3.0% vs. -31.1±3.1%, P=0.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients who underwent CDH repair continue to have differences in RV function years after repair. Follow-up is needed to determine how these differences impact cardiac function in adult survivors of CDH.
authors.affiliation: The Heart Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Egan
authors.forename: Nazia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Husain
authors.forename: Jack R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Stines
authors.forename: Nasser
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moiduddin
authors.forename: Melanie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Leif D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nelin
authors.forename: Clifford L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cua
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006548:Hernia, Diaphragmatic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D065630:Hernias, Diaphragmatic, Congenital; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors; D014463:Ultrasonography; D016278:Ventricular Function, Right