Methods From October 2015 to March 2016, 53 children with stable condition and normal heart function after hospitalized in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) in West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, were selected as study subjects. 53 children were divided into three groups according to age, including infantile group (n=23, age≤1 year old), toddler and preschool group (n=15, age>1-6 years old), school age group (n=15, age>6-15 years old). D-ICG was used to detect heart function of all subjects under sleep, quiet and cooperate condition, about 30 parameters were obtained, and analyzed the differences of these parameters among three groups of children statistically, and compared with the adult normal reference values of these parameters. Summarized the characteristics of D-ICG results of children in different age groups, and the clinical value of apply adult D-ICG normal reference values to children.
Results ① There were significant differences among 3 groups of children in cardiac function parameters including stroke work (SW), stroke work index (SWI), cardiac work (CW), cardiac work index (CWI), stroke volume (SV), stroke index (SI), cardiac output (CO) and cardiac index (CI) (P<0.001), and these parameters increased with age. There were no significant differences among 3 groups in base impedance (Z0) and ejection fraction (EF) (P>0.05). ② There were significant differences among 3 groups of children in 4 preload and postload parameters including end-diastolic volume (EDV), aortic compliance (AC), total peripheral resistance (TPR) and total peripheral resistance index (TPRI) (P<0.001), and EDV and AC were increased with age, while TPR and TPRI were decreased with age. ③ Systolic function parameters including pre-ejection period (PEP), pre-ejection period index (PEPI), ventricular ejection time (VET), ventricular ejection time index (VETI), systolic function index (PEP/VET), total electromechanical systole (TEMS), Q-C interphase (Q-C), rapid ventricular ejection index (C/B-C), heather index (HI), ventricular amplitude of systolic wave (Cdz/dtmax), and diastolic function parameters including ventricular amplitude of diastolic wave (Odz/dtmax), atrial amplitude of systolic wave (WAdz/dtmax), left ventricular compliance index (WA/C), diastolic function index (O/C), isovolumetric relaxation phase (A2-O), the results of the comparison among 3 groups of children in all above 15 parameters showed that: there were significant differences among 3 groups of children in 7 cardiac function parameters of PEP, VET, PEP/VET, TEMS, Q-C, Cdz/dtmax and A2-O (P<0.05). There were no significant differences among 3 groups of children in other 8 systolic and diastolic function parameters (P>0.05). ④A total of 15 in 29 parameters mentioned above including SW, SWI, CW, CWI, SV, SI, CO, CI, EDV, AC, TPR, TPRI, PEP, VET and A2-O, only the children′s test results of school age group reached the range of adult normal reference values. And the test results of other 14 parameters of 3 groups of children were all in the adult normal reference values range. ⑤ Correlation analysis results showed that: the body surface area (BSA) was positively correlated with EDV (r=0.773, P<0.05), SV (r=0.843, P<0.05) and CO (r=0.839, P<0.05), respectively. Cdz/dtmax was positively correlated with HI (r=0.861, P<0.05) and SI (r=0.536, P<0.05), respectively. Heart rate was negatively correlated with PEP (r=-0.522, P<0.05), VET (r=-0.536, P<0.05), TEMS (r=-0.815, P<0.05), Q-C (r=-0.594, P<0.05) and A2-O (r=-0.451, P<0.05), respectively. There was no correlation between heart rate and PEP/VET (r=-0.189, P>0.05).