Abstract
Accurate Doppler determination of pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) has recently become possible by measuring peak velocity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR) and application of the Bernoulli equation. Since not all babies have TR, it is necessary to assess alternative methods; one is the assessment of the pulmonary waveform, dividing the time to peak velocity (TPV) by the ejection time (RVET). During a longitudinal haemodynamic study of healthy and sick term and preterm babies, the TPV/RVET ratio was measured on 258 occasions in babies who also had PAP determined by the TR method.
Results: Overall, there was a weak correlation of TPV/RVET with PAP (r=0.43), with wide scatter, and the relationship was affected by gestation and ductal patency, eg. duct closed (n=96) r=0.51, duct large (n=127) r=0.33. All well babies <33 weeks (n=12) r=0.67.
Conclusion: The way TPV/RVET ratio is related to PAP varies with gestation and ductal patency. Individual ratios are of limited value in predicting PAP. Ratios in prematures are lower at a given PAP than in term babies.
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Skineer, J., Hunter, S. & Hey, E. EVALUATION OF THE TPV/RVET RATIO IN DETERMINING PULMONARY ARTERIAL PRESSURE IN THE NEONATE. Pediatr Res 32, 614 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199211000-00059
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199211000-00059