Usefulness of real-time 3-dimensional echocardiography to identify and quantify left ventricular dyssynchrony in patients with Kawasaki disease

Myocardial work is independent risk factor for coronary artery lesions in children with Kawasaki disease

BACKGROUND

The recognition ability of noninvasive echocardiographic myocardial work for coronary artery lesions (CAL) in children with Kawasaki disease (KD) has not been well characterized. This study aimed to determine whether impaired myocardial work is an independent risk factor for CAL in children with KD.

METHODS

Between December 2021 and April 2023, left ventricular (LV) myocardial work of 59 KD children was evaluated by myocardial work echocardiography, and their demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected simultaneously. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify the independent risk factors for CAL.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven of 59 KD children had CAL according to the diagnostic criteria of echocardiography. There were significantly different heart rates, white blood cell count, LV ejection fraction, global work index (GWI), global work efficiency and global wasted work (GWW) between KD children with and without CAL ( P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that GWI [odds ratio (OR) = 0.985; P = 0.001], GWW (OR = 1.039; P = 0.019), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR, OR = 1.051; P = 0.049) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR = 1.017; P = 0.044) were independent risk factors for CAL in children with KD. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.847 for GWI was superior to that for GWW (AUC = 0.708), ESR (AUC = 0.645) and CRP (AUC = 0.626) to predict CAL in KD children ( P < 0.05). The optimal cutoff value of GWI was 1089 mmHg, with a sensitivity of 59.26% and a specificity of 96.87%.

CONCLUSION

GWI and GWW were independent risk factors for CAL in KD children with high discrimination ability.

Left ventricular systolic dyssynchrony in patients with Kawasaki disease: a real-time three-dimensional echocardiography study

The left ventricular (LV) systolic dyssynchrony index (SDI) is an important prognostic indicator for many cardiovascular diseases; however, the characteristics of the SDI in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) are unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify and quantify the SDI using real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE) in KD patients during different phases. In addition, we intended to explore whether the SDI is associated with systolic dysfunction. Seventy consecutive KD patients and seventy age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled. The SDIs (percent of cardiac cycle) of 16 segments (16-SDI%) and 12 segments (12-SDI%) were calculated based on the defined standard deviation of each segment time from end diastole to the minimal systolic volume according to the 17-segment model (apex excluded). In the acute phase, the 16-SDI% and 12-SDI% were significantly higher in KD patients than in controls (4.40 ± 0.14 vs. 1.98 ± 0.12, P = 0.000; 3.55 ± 1.21 vs. 1.67 ± 0.93, P = 0.009, respectively), and patients with coronary artery aneurysm (CAA) exhibited higher 16-SDI% (P = 0.021) and 12-SDI% (P = 0.034) than patients without CAA. In the convalescent phase, patients with CAA still had higher 16-SDI% (P = 0.002) and 12-SDI% (P = 0.031) than controls, while the SDI in patients without CAA recovered to normal. The 16-SDI% was negatively correlated with the LV ejection fraction obtained from RT3DE (r = - 0.845, P = 0.000). Mechanical dyssynchrony is prevalent in KD patients during the acute phase and transient in patients without CAA, while patients with CAA still have impaired synchrony even in the convalescent phase. LV systolic dysfunction is associated with increased dyssynchrony. RT3DE is a valuable modality for identifying and quantifying dyssynchrony in KD patients.

Assessing left ventricular systolic function in children with a history of Kawasaki disease

BACKGROUND

The incidence of Kawasaki disease (KD) is increasing. Indeed, KD has become the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children. Previous studies have well summarized the acute phase left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction using speckle tracking echocardiography (STE); however, changes in LV systolic function after long-term follow-up remain unclear.

METHODS

One hundred children with a history of KD, but without coronary artery aneurysms, were enrolled. These children were divided into two subgroups based on the presence or absence of coronary artery dilatation (CAD). The duration of follow-up was > 7 years. The control group consisted of 51 healthy children. The LV myocardial strain were measured by two- and three-dimensional STE.

RESULTS

Two-dimensional STE not only revealed that LV longitudinal strain decreased in part of segments in both KD groups, but also showed that global strain decreased in the KD group with CAD compared to the controls (P < 0.05). Global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), global radial strain (GRS), and global area strain (GAS) were obtained by 3D STE. Compared to the controls, GLS and GAS decreased in both KD groups (P < 0.05). GCS and GRS decreased in the KD group with CAD, but was unchanged in the KD group without CAD (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

LV systolic dysfunction in children with KD and CAD was more severe than KD children without CAD compared to healthy children. This dysfunction can be assessed by LV regional and global myocardial strain using two- and three-dimensional STE.

Three-dimensional Echocardiography in Congenital Heart Disease: An Expert Consensus Document from the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging and the American Society of Echocardiography

Three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) has become important in the management of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), particularly with pre-surgical planning, guidance of catheter intervention, and functional assessment of the heart. 3DE is increasingly used in children because of good acoustic windows and the non-invasive nature of the technique. The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the optimal application of 3DE in CHD including technical considerations, image orientation, application to different lesions, procedural guidance, and functional assessment.