Does the choice of ultrasound probe affect the measurement of ventricular strain and dyssynchrony in normal fetuses using speckle tracking echocardiography?
Assessment of fetal ventricular strain and dyssynchrony using speckle tracking echocardiography is feasible and yields comparable results across three different ultrasound probes.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate segmental left (LV-S) and right (RV-S) ventricular strain as well as longitudinal mechanical myocardial dyssynchrony as a time difference between peaks in strain of both ventricles in fetuses (two-chamber-dyssynchrony, 2C-DYS) using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE). The aim of our study was to evaluate the influence of data acquisition on the results of STE measurement using different ultrasound probes. METHODS: We prospectively recorded cardiac cycles of four-chamber views of 56 normal fetuses with three different ultrasound probes and analyzed them offline with speckle tracking imaging software. Furthermore, we looked at a possible influence of heartbeat variability (beat-to-beat variability). RESULTS: The evaluation of the parameters was feasible with all three probes in 53 cases. There was no influence of heartbeat variability and no noticeable differences in 2C-DYS, LV-S and RV-S in all cases and for all three probes determined. CONCLUSION: Assessment of strain and dyssynchrony using STE with three different probes is comparable. Further research is needed to validate dyssynchrony as a predictor for fetal outcome.
Rolf et al. (Fri,) studied this question.