Application of Real-Time Three-Dimensional Echocardiography to Evaluate the Pre- and Postoperative Right Ventricular Systolic Function of Patients with Tetralogy of Fallot.

UNLABELLED: Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) can be challenging for clinicians to both diagnose and treat, given the multiple heart defects that are by definition associated with the illness. This study investigates the value of real-time three- dimensional echocardiography (RT-3DE) in evaluating the pre-and postoperative right ventricular systolic function of patients with tetralogy of Fallot. A total of 41 ToF patients were divided into two groups: the child group (CG) and the adult group (AG) according to age. The right ventricular end-diastolic volume (RVEDV), right ventricular end-systolic volume (RVESV), and the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) of ToF patients were measured before surgery, 7 days, and 3 months after the surgery. The correlation between the preoperative Nakata index and RVEF was then analyzed. Compared with the RVEDV and RVESV prior to surgery, those of the postoperative 7-day and 3-month were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). However, RVEF decreased, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The differences in RVEDV, RVESV, and RVEF between postoperative 3-month and 7-day were not significant (p > 0.05). Compared with the pre-and postoperative RVEDV and RVESV of CG, those of AG increased. However, RVEF decreased, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Our study indicated that the correlation between preoperative Nakata index and RVEF was good. Ultimately, we did confirm that RT-3DE can quantitatively evaluate the right ventricular volume and systolic function of ToF patients, thereby providing clinical significance in determining postoperative efficacy and prognosis evaluation.

KEY WORDS: Echocardiography; Right; Tetralogy of Fallot; Three-dimensional; Ventricular function.