Abstract
Background: There is poor correlation between invasive blood pressure (BP), left and right ventricular outputs, and superior vena cava flow. Few data exists on the relationship between BP and celiac artery blood flow in preterm infants.
Objective: To assess the relationship between BP and left/right ventricular outputs (LVO and RVO), and celiac artery blood flow in preterm infants during the first 48 hours of life.
Study Design: Thirty infants with a median [inter quartile range (IQR)] age of 27.4 [25.8–29.3] weeks and median birth weight [IQR] of 1014 [0.720–1.260] g underwent 60 echocardiographic examinations at 12 and 48 hours of age. Simultaneous measurements of LVO, RVO, CAF and invasive BP were taken. Systemic vascular resistance (SVR) was calculated. Non parametric tests were used for analysis.
Results: BP correlated with RVO at 12 hours but not 48 hours. There was no correlation between BP and LVO or CAF at 12 or 48 hours. CAF correlated with LVO in the absence of a significant PDA (r=0.55). There was a negative correlation between CAF and SVR (r=0.90).
Conclusion: BP is not a reliable measure of CAF, LVO and RVO. CAF is mainly determined by LVO and possibly SVR. CAF may be used in conjunction with other echocardiographic markers to assess the haemodynamic status of preterm infants.