Establishment of Myocardial Strain Measurement Data in Pediatric Patients Without Structural Heart Disease: A Single Center Study

Accurate assessment of LV systolic function remains a challenge, especially in the pediatric population. Myocardial strain measurement by 2D speckle tracking echocardiography (2DSTE) is a relatively new modality for assessment of regional and global myocardial wall motion. This study aims to establish the normative value among various pediatric age groups at a large pediatric tertiary care institution and to describe the challenges encountered in establishing such strain data. Transthoracic echocardiograms were acquired in 121 healthy children (age 0–21 years) and were retrospectively analyzed. The global longitudinal strain (GLS) was obtained by 2D speckle tracking using Philips Epiq7^® and QLAB post processing software. The normative value for left ventricular GLS (%) obtained in our study was − 20.8 ± 2.3 (< 1 year); − 21.4 ± 2.2 (1–4 years); − 19.6 ± 2.4 (5–9 years); − 19.4 ± 2.6 (10–14 years); − 18.9 ± 3.0 (15–21 years). There was a statistically significant difference in GLS between the different age groups. The BMI (kg/m²) of assessed subjects were 14.6 ± 2.3 (< 1 year); 16.3 ± 1.5 (1–4 years); 16.7 ± 2.3 (5–9 years); 21.3 ± 4.6 (10–14 years); 23.9 ± 5.9 (15–21 years). There was no significant difference in GLS by gender or by BMI found in our study. We present our experience with establishment of normative values of 2DSTE in our pediatric echocardiography lab. This study shows that age is the major determinant of variation in peak GLS in healthy subjects, emphasizing the importance of establishment of normative data among various age groups in pediatrics.