Update on pediatric echocardiography. Curr Opin Pediatr 2005 Oct;17(5):579-85
Date
09/15/2005Pubmed ID
16160531DOI
10.1097/01.mop.0000175459.63797.d7Scopus ID
2-s2.0-26044477911 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 10 CitationsAbstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The past year was dominated by developments in echocardiographic assessment of myocardial function in children, and this paper reviews some of these major advancements in pediatric echocardiography as a guide to those interested in imaging of the pediatric heart and vascular system.
RECENT FINDINGS: Characterization of myocardial function using Doppler tissue imaging, both in the normal child and in the child with congenital or acquired heart disease, was a primary focus of pediatric echocardiographic investigation. Other new technologies, including integrated backscatter analysis and three-dimensional echocardiography, appear to hold significant promise as tools to improve myocardial assessment echocardiographically. Three-dimensional echocardiography also is developing into a powerful technique in fetal echocardiography, allowing rapid data acquisition and extensive image postprocessing with opportunities for both anatomic and functional assessment. Childhood fitness and diseases have a significant impact on the heart and vascular bed, and descriptions of echocardiographic findings in obese children, children engaged in athletic activities, children with renal disease, children who have undergone cardiac transplantation, and those with aortic valve disease were better characterized by investigations published over the past year.
SUMMARY: Pediatric echocardiography has clearly expanded from a diagnostic tool used to describe anatomic abnormalities associated with congenital heart disease to a noninvasive myocardial monitoring tool that allows serial assessment of the pathologic effects of both cardiac and noncardiac disease.
Author List
Frommelt PCAuthor
Peter C. Frommelt MD Adjunct Professor in the Pediatrics department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
ChildEchocardiography
Graft Rejection
Heart Diseases
Heart Transplantation
Humans
Kidney Diseases
Myocardial Contraction
Ventricular Function