Clinical Article
Right Ventricular Function in Children with Bronchial Asthma: A Tissue Doppler Echocardiographic Study
Soad Shedeed
Background:Asthma is the most common cause of respiratory disability in children. Patients with severe bronchial asthma can develop cor pulmonale later in life, but little is known about the function of the right ventricle early in the disease.
AIM: To study the right ventricular function in children with bronchial asthma as detected by tissue doppler echocardiography.
Methods: This is a case-control study included 60 asthmatic children aged 5-15 years in between attacks (Study group) compared to another 60 apparently healthy children properly matched with the study group and served as a control group. All children included in this study were subjected to: full history taking, complete physical examination, measurement of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), chest x-ray, ECG and echocardiographic examination both conventional and tissue doppler.
Results :the sample consisted of 248 males and 252 females with a mean age of 24 years, males had a larger left ventricular mass index (82.8±20.9 vs.75.5±18.4 p= 0.001). Egyptian left ventricular mass was near to Hispanic race and was within the limits set for normal values (131gm/m2 for men and 100gm/m2 for women). Capital inhabitants had larger left ventricular mass index as compared to rural communities.
cONCLUSIONS: Although the clinical and conventional echocardiographic findings of asthmatic children were apparently normal, tissue doppler echocardiographic study revealed subclinical right ventricular dysfunction which is positively correlated with the severity of asthma. These findings signify the diagnostic value of tissue doppler echocardiography for the early detection and monitoring of such deleterious effects among asthmatic patients.
Keywords: Right ventricular function; bronchial asthma, Tissue doppler echocardiography, Isovolumetric relaxation time.