Comparing echocardiographic assessment of systolic function with catheterization data in patients with single right ventricles

Purpose Echocardiographic evaluation of systolic function in patients with single right ventricles (SRV) is important but remains challenging. Minimal data exist correlating echocardiographic indices with catheterization data in this population. The goal of this study was to evaluate which echocardiographic measurement correlated best with dP/dt (max) obtained by cardiac catheterization in SRV patients. Methods Patients with SRV physiology who underwent simultaneous echocardiography and cardiac catheterization were evaluated. Echocardiographic data included fractional area change % (FAC), displacement, TDI s' wave, myocardial performance index (MPI), global systolic strain, and global SR s wave. Maximum positive rate of ventricular pressure change measured as dP/dt (max) was obtained from the cardiac catheterization report. Correlations of echocardiographic and catheterization variables were examined using the Pearson correlation. Results Twenty-seven SRV patients were studied. Median age at the time of the catheterization was 11.4 months (range 0 - 132 months). dP/dt (max) values ranged from 337-1860 mmHg/s with a median of 994 mmHg/s. Mean FAC was 27.15 ± 7.13%, displacement was 7.35 ± 2.88 mm, TDI s' was 4.98 ±1.93 cm/sec, MPI was 0.41 ± 0.17, global strain was -14.85 ± 4.32%, and global SR s wave was -1.03 ± 0.34 sec^-1. There were no signifi cant correlations between dP/dt (max) and any of the echocardiographic measurements of systolic function in SRV patients. Conclusion In patients with SRV physiology, catheterization-derived dP/dt (max) did not correlate with echocardiographic measurements of systolic function. Larger studies are needed to determine which non-invasive parameter best describes systolic function in patients with SRV.