Analysis of the application value of speckle-tracking imaging technology
to assess fetal cardiac function in the early second trimester
Abstract
Objective: We explored the usefulness of speckle-tracking
imaging (STI) to assess cardiac function in fetal congenital heart
disease in the early second trimester. Method: A total of 152
pregnant women with a singleton pregnancy who underwent early fetal
echocardiography at the ultrasound department of our hospital were
randomly selected. There were 40 fetuses with congenital heart disease
(case group) and 112 healthy fetuses (control group). STI was performed
in both groups to measure fetal left ventricular (LV) and right
ventricular (RV) endocardial-myocardial global longitudinal strain
(GLSendo), time to peak longitudinal strain (TTPS), fractional area
change (FAC), and LV ejection fraction (LVEF). These parameters were
compared between the two groups, and correlation analyses were
performed. Results: There were no significant differences in
fetal LVEF and RVFAC between the case and control groups. The LV GLSendo
and RV GLSendo were lower in the case group ( P <
0.05). The LV TTPS and RV TTPS were negatively correlated with fetal
heart rate in both groups.After heart rate correction, the TTPS in the
case group was longer than in the control group. Conclusion:
STI may be useful to quantitatively evaluate fetal myocardial
deformation and function in the early second trimester.