The value of pulmonary artery acceleration time in evaluating pulmonary
vascular disease in preterm infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia
Category: Original Research
Abstract
Objectives— Early screening and dynamic monitoring of
pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD)
high-risk infants is of great clinical significance. Pulmonary artery
acceleration time (PAAT) is a reliable and non-invasive method for
assessing PVD in children over 1 year, but to date, few studies have
used PAAT to assess pulmonary hemodynamics of preterm infants,
especially those with BPD. Through dynamic monitoring the main
hemodynamic indicators reflected PVD after birth, this study aimed to
assess the value of PAAT in evaluating early PVD in BPD infants.
Methods— 81 preterm infants at risk of BPD were divided into
BPD and non-BPD groups according to whether BPD occurred. Clinical
characteristics, PAAT, right ventricular ejection time (RVET) and other
main hemodynamic indicators at 4 different time points after birth were
studied and compared. Results— PAAT and PAAT/RVET increased
gradually within 72 hours after birth in the BPD group ( P
< 0.05), but the curve tended to be flat over time after 72
hours( P > 0.05). At PMA32 and 36 weeks, the PAAT
(49.7±4.8 vs.54.8±5.7, P=0.001; 50.0±5.3
vs.57.0±5.3, P=0.001) and PAAT/RVET (0.33 ± 0.04
vs. 0.35 ± 0.03, P=0.001; 0.34 ± 0.03 vs. 0.37 ±
0.04, P = 0.001) in BPD group were significantly lower than those
in the non-BPD group. Conclusions— PAAT and PAAT/RVET in the
BPD group infants showed different change patterns compared to non-BPD
group infants. PAAT can be used as a noninvasive and reliable screening
method for screening and dynamic monitoring of PVD in BPD high-risk
infants.