Aim:Anthracycline-associated cardiotoxicity in childhood cancer survivors may relate to global or segmental left ventricular abnormalities from associated thromboembolic events and myocardial microinfarcts. We characterized left ventricular segmental changes by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in anthracycline-treated asymptomatic childhood cancer survivors.Methods and Results:Childhood cancer survivors’ echocardiograms with normal left ventricular fractional shortening >1 year after anthracycline chemotherapy were studied. Cancer-free control children had normal echocardiograms. Apical two-, three-, and four-chamber peak systolic left ventricular longitudinal and global longitudinal strain, and peak systolic left ventricular radial and circumferential strain at papillary muscle levels were analyzed. The mean (standard deviation) age was 12.7 (3.8) years in 41 childhood cancer survivors. The median (interquartile range) follow-up after anthracycline chemotherapy was 4.73 (2.15–8) years. The median (range) cumulative anthracycline dose was 160.2 (60–396.9) mg/m2. In childhood cancer survivors, the mean (standard deviation) left ventricular longitudinal strain was lower in two- (−18.6 [3.2] versus −21.3 [2.5], p < 0.001), three- (−16.3 [6.0] versus −21.7 [3.0], p < 0.001), and four- (−17.6 [2.7] versus −20.8 [2.0], p < 0.001) chamber views compared to controls. The left ventricular global longitudinal strain (−17.6 [2.7] versus −21.3 [2.0]) and circumferential strain (−20.8 [4.3] versus −23.5 [2.6], p < 0.001) were lower in childhood cancer survivors. Among childhood cancer survivors, 12 out of 16 left ventricular segments had significantly lower longitudinal strain than controls.Conclusions:Asymptomatic anthracycline-treated childhood cancer survivors with normal left ventricular fractional shortening had lower global longitudinal and circumferential strain. The left ventricular longitudinal strain was lower in majority of the segments, suggesting that anthracycline cardiotoxicity is more global than regional.
Although pectus excavatum is generally a benign condition, the cardiologist should be aware of the potential for serious hemodynamic compromise related to positioning in these patients.
Echocardiography is critical in the assessment of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Fundamental techniques and standardised approaches are useful when evaluating patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome prenatally, after birth, and before the Norwood operation (Stage 1); after the Norwood operation, before and after the superior cavopulmonary anastomosis (Stage 2); before and after the Fontan operation (Stage 3); and for chronic surveillance after the Fontan operation. From foetal assessment to ongoing surveillance after the Fontan procedure, echocardiography remains the primary technique for cardiac monitoring in this growing population of children and adults.
Purpose We compared the left ventricular (LV) systolic function in children with cancer before initiation of chemotherapy with matched controls using speckle tracking echocardiography. Methods and results In this retrospective study, we analyzed the echocardiograms of 89 cancer patients before the initiation of chemotherapy and 82 age‐ (8.4 ± 5.2 vs. 8.9 ± 3.9 years, P = .4) and gender‐matched (64% vs. 67%, males, P = .4) healthy controls. Peak systolic LV longitudinal strain (LS) was significantly lower in cancer patients in apical two (−19.8 ± 3.0 vs. −23.5 ± 4.0, P < .001), three (−19.4 ± 3.2 vs. −23.4 ± 4.0, P < .001), and four‐chamber views (−19.7 ± 3.4 vs. −22.5 ± 3.0, P < .001) compared to controls, as was global longitudinal strain (GLS) (−19.8 ± 2.7 vs. −23.4 ± 3.2, P < .001). The prechemotherapy group also had a higher E/e' ratio compared to controls at the septal (9.3 ± 3.9 vs. 7.9 ± 1.7, P = .005) and lateral annulus (7.9 ± 3.3 vs. 5.9 ± 1.4, P < .001) of the mitral valve. The LV ejection fraction was lower in cancer patients compared to controls (63.5 ± 4.9 vs. 66.8 ± 4.1, P < .001), although still within normal limits. There were no differences in LV myocardial performance index (0.30 ± 0.05 vs. 0.30 ± 0.09, P < .65) and shortening fraction (35.8 ± 5.2 vs. 36.1 ± 6.1, P < 0.75) between the two groups. Subgroup analysis showed no difference in LV GLS between patients with solid tumors (n = 56) and blood cancers (n = 33) (GLS −19.2 ± 2.9 vs. 19.5 ± 2.4, P > 0.05). Conclusion Our data demonstrating abnormalities in LV GLS in pediatric cancer patients even prior to initiation of chemotherapy are novel and perplexing. Further longitudinal follow‐up is required to assess the implications of this abnormal LV function in these patients.
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