Arq Bras Cardiol: Imagem cardiovasc. 2023; 36(2): e20230035
My Approach to Echocardiographic Assessment of the Premature Newborn
DOI: 10.36660/abcimg.20230035i
Abstract
Echocardiographic assessment of preterm infants, why do it? The incidence of premature births has been increasing worldwide and already affects about 10% of live births. Extremely preterm newborns (PTNB) are at increased risk of developing pulmonary immaturity, leading to pulmonary hypertension (PH), in addition to cardiovascular immaturity and patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).Hemodynamic monitoring of this population is challenging and differs from critically ill pediatric patients due to hemodynamic lability. Thus, minimal manipulation is essential to avoid complications. In this context, non-invasive monitoring methods such as transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) gain importance for hemodynamic assessment. It is a low-cost, radiation-free test that offers good anatomical and functional visualization in pediatric patients, making it a useful tool in the clinical management of severe preterm newborns.What you will find in this article:We will take an objective, didactic, and at times humorous approach to the use of echocardiography in premature newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and we will discuss the echocardiographic particularities of premature infants, especially regarding equipment adjustments, PH, and persistence of the ductus arteriosus (DA).
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