P3467Tricuspid annular isovolumic acceleration is more useful for the assessment of right ventricular systolic function in patients after repair of tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary regurgitation

Abstract

Abstract Introduction The detrimental impact of pulmonary regurgitation (PR) on right ventricular (RV) function of patients after repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is recognized. Although tricuspid annular isovolumic acceleration (IVA) is useful for the evaluation of RV function, it requires complicated measurement. Tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) is measured easily and has also been validated as a marker of RV systolic function. Hypothesis We assessed the hypothesis that IVA has advantage to the stratification of the detrimental impact of PR on RV systolic function after TOF repair compared with TAPSE. Methods We prospectively examined patients after TOF repair. Patients <1 year after the repair, those with the history of sustained arrhythmia and those who required concomitant tricuspid and/or pulmonary valve surgery were excluded from the study. IVA was measured by dividing the myocardial velocity during isovolumic contraction by the time interval from the onset of the myocardial velocity during the isovolumic contraction to the time at the peak velocity of this wave. TAPSE was measured using M-mode echocardiography with the M-line passing through the lateral annulus of tricuspid valve in the apical 4-chamber plane. PR jets were evaluated in the parasternal short-axis plane. PR degree was assessed by the number of correspondence to the following conditions; 1) diastolic flow reversal in the main pulmonary artery, 2) diastolic flow reversal in the branch pulmonary arteries, 3) pressure half-time of PR signal <100 msec and 4) the ratio of the duration of the PR signal to the total duration of diastole <0.77. PR degree was graded from 0 to 4. Results Twenty-two patients were enrolled to the study. Age, female, period after the TOF repair and body height of the patients were 11±6 years, 55%, 9±5 years and 137±28 cm, respectively. In all the patients, IVA and TAPSE were 160±27 cm/sec2 and 12±2 mm, respectively. PR degrees were graded as 2, 3 and 4 in 4, 14 and 4 patients, respectively. By the Kruskal-Wallis test, only IVA showed a significant difference among the 3 PR degrees. Conclusion In conclusion, IVA can be a useful index for the stratification of RV function in patients after TOF repair with various degrees of PR.