Assessment of pulmonary artery stiffness in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot

Liu, Yushan; Xu, Ran; Zhou, Dan; Yang, Yang; Xu, Ganqiong; Zeng, Shi

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Original Article

Assessment of pulmonary artery stiffness in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot

Yushan Liu¹, Ran Xu², Dan Zhou¹, Yang Yang¹, Ganqiong Xu¹, Shi Zeng¹

¹Department of Ultrasound, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
²Department of Urology, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China

Corresponding Author: Shi Zeng ,Tel: 13755060174, Fax: No., Email: shizeng@csu.edu.cn

Received: October 21, 2023; Accepted: April 11, 2024. Published online: April 11, 2024.

ABSTRACT

Purpose:
To evluate the elastic characteristics of the pulmonary trunk and distal branches in fetuses with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) by Doppler echocardiography.
Methods:
A total of 42 fetuses with TOF （TOF group）and 84 gestational age-matched normal foetuses（control group）were prospectively collected from the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University from August 2022 to January 2023. The severity of TOF was classified into mild TOF (z score≥-2), moderate TOF (-4Results:
Compared with the normal group, the MPA-PAS in fetuses with TOF was significantly higher, and the DLPA-PAS and DRPA-PAS were obviously lower (all P<0.05). The MPA-PAS of fetuses with severe TOF was higher than that of those with mild and moderate TOF (all P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences in the DLPA-PAS or DRPA-PAS among fetuses with mild TOF, moderate TOF and severe TOF (all P>0.05).
Conclusion:
Fetuses with TOF presented with increased vascular stiffness in the MPA and decreased stiffness in the distal PA. Further large and follow-up studies are needed to demonstrate the associations between those changed vascular stiffness and the development of PA in patients with TOF.

Keywords: Ultrasonic cardiography; Pulmonary arterial stiffness; Pulmonary arterial elasticity; Tetralogy of Fallot; Fetus