Background: Targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE) is proposed to describe the use of targeted neonatal echocardiography to assess systemic and pulmonary blood flow, myocardial function, intracardiac and extra cardiac shunts, organ blood flow and tissue perfusion. It gives non-invasive information on the underlying cardiovascular pathophysiology causing hemodynamic instability and the response to treatment in an individual patient over time.
Objective: Our main objective in this study is to delineate the impact of echocardiography on the management of unstable neonates at neonatal ICU at Sohag University Hospital.
Methods: A prospective hospital-based study included 191 neonates. TNE was done for all included infants as indicated by the clinical team. TNE used to assess PDA regarding diagnosis of patency and hemodynamic significance.. Right ventricular systolic pressure and Pulmonary artery pressure was assessed for diagnosis, management and follow up pf pulmonary hypertension. The main outcome was measured by the impact of TNE on the management plane of the included infants and their short term outcome.
Results: there were 60 (31.41%) preterm newborns have PDA, 45 (75%) of them were hemodynamically significant, of them 28 were closed by medical treatment, 15 needed surgical ligation and 2 infants were died. There were 28 (14.65%) newborns had pulmonary hypertension, 27 cases were improved using medical treatment and one case died.