title: Survey of how pediatric cardiologists noninvasively evaluate patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The evaluation of right ventricular (RV) function is important in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Echocardiographic qualitative grading has been the prevalent method used in the past, but newer technologies allowing for quantitative assessment of RV function may have changed this fact. The goal of this study was to determine the current routine noninvasive evaluation of patients with HLHS and what, if any, methods are used to assess systolic and diastolic function in this population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Web-based survey was conducted using various listservs. Timing of echocardiograms between surgical stages was assessed. Methods of assessing systolic and diastolic function were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred seventy-seven physicians who averaged 12.8 ± 9.6 years removed from training responded. Largest percentage of respondents was echocardiographers (44.2%) in a university-based practice (73.3%) from North America (91.7%). There were 54.3% of respondents who performed echocardiograms monthly between stages I and II, 48.8% who performed echocardiograms every 6 months between stages II and III, and 67.0% who performed echocardiograms annually after stage III procedure. The main method for systolic grading was qualitative grading (95.5%) and for diastolic grading were tricuspid blood inflow velocities (56.8%). Qualitative grading was considered the method of choice for systolic grading for 38.8% of respondents and tissue Doppler velocities was the method of choice for diastolic grading for 35.3% of respondents. There were 4.0% of respondents who routinely perform a cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) between stages I and II, 8.0% between stages II and III, and 24.2% after stage III procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Variability in the noninvasive assessment of the RV in patients with HLHS continues to exist. Qualitative RV systolic assessment was still the predominant method used to assess function despite newer imaging techniques to allow for quantification. Future studies are needed to determine which values are most useful in reviewing function in this complex patient population.
authors.affiliation: Heart Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nadorlik
authors.forename: Craig
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fleishman
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miller-Tate
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lenahan
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nicholson
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wheller
authors.forename: Clifford L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Cua
mesh_terms: D002309:Cardiology; D003971:Diastole; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018636:Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013599:Systole; D014463:Ultrasonography
keywords: Cardiac MRI; Echocardiogram; Function; Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome; Survey