Echocardiographic assessment of intimal thickness growth of patent ductus arteriosus in neonates and analysis of influencing factors

• Published in: The international journal of cardiovascular imaging 2022-07, Vol.38 (7), p.1443-1452
• Main Authors: Hu, Xin-Lu, Wang, Hui, Hou, Cui, Hou, Miao, Zhan, Shi-Hong, Pan, Tao, Ding, Yue-Yue, Gu, Pei-Pei, Xu, Qiu-Qin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Birth; Cardiac Imaging; Cardiology; Congenital diseases; Coronary vessels; Decision making; Diameters; Early intervention; Echocardiography; Gestational age; Growth rate; Imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neonates; Original Paper; Oxygen demand; Radiology; Thickness
• ISSN: 1875-8312; 1569-5794; 1875-8312; 1573-0743
• DOI: 10.1007/s10554-022-02531-0

The spontaneous closure rate of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is high, and the necessity of early intervention is debated. Quantitative echocardiographic assessment of the intima in PDA has not been reported. This study evaluated intimal thickness growth in neonatal cases of PDA via echocardiography and investigated its correlation with clinical factors. Seventy-three neonates were enrolled, and echocardiography was performed three times: within 24 h post-birth (first echo), 48 h after the first echo (second echo), and before discharge (third echo). According to PDA outcome, the neonates were divided into the PDA-open group (n = 18 cases), PDA-closure at second echo group (n = 32 cases), and non-PDA at first echo group (n = 23 cases). We measured the intimal thickness (IT1 and IT2 at first and second echo, respectively), lumen diameter of ductus arteriosus (D1 and D2 at first and second echo, respectively), IT1/D1 ratio, and intimal thickness growth rate (V). Correlations between echocardiographic indicators, perinatal factors, and clinical treatment were analyzed. On first echo, the PDA-open group showed a significantly lower IT1/D1 than the combined PDA-closure group (P