Clinical associations of right ventricular strain in community-acquired pneumonia: a prospective cohort study

Abstract Background Pneumonia remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and right ventricular dysfunction may contribute to adverse clinical outcomes. Right ventricular global longitudinal strain (RVGLS) is an emerging echocardiographic marker for assessing right ventricular function, but its prognostic and clinical utility in pneumonia has not been fully clarified. Methods Eighty patients hospitalized with pneumonia underwent echocardiographic assessment, including RVGLS measurement via 2D speckle tracking echocardiography. Patients were categorized into two groups: reduced RVGLS (absolute value 7 days (50.0% vs. 28.8%, P = 0.044) and > 10 days (21.4% vs. 5.8%, P = 0.029), as well as longer duration of oxygen therapy (4.30 days vs. 2.60 days, P = 0.043), were significantly more common in the reduced RVGLS group. Intensive care unit admission and short-term mortality did not differ significantly between groups. Conclusions Reduced RVGLS in pneumonia patients is associated with markers of disease severity, longer hospital stays, and extended oxygen therapy requirements, even without overt right ventricular failure. RVGLS assessment may assist in identifying patients at risk for a complicated clinical course.