부산대학교 도서관

Aims Real time 3D echocardiography ( RT3 DE) has been applied for the assessment of left atrial ( LA) function in patients with adult heart disease; however, LA function is not well known in children. We aimed at determining the normal range of LA volume ( LAV) using RT3 DE and the feasibility and reproducibility of this method in healthy subjects and at elucidating the developmental changes in the LAV with aging. Methods and Results In this study, 359 healthy people (mean age, 23.9 ± 21.3; range, 0.1-76.4 years) were enrolled. We performed transthoracic RT3 DE and measured the maximum and minimum LAV. Simultaneously, we measured the LAV using the 2D biplane Simpson's method. Inter-observer and intra-observer variability and the agreement of LAV measurements between RT3 DE and 2 DE were assessed in a subset of subjects. The RT3 DE feasibility for LAV measurement was 93%. Both maximum and minimum LAVs exponentially increased with age and linearly increased with increasing of body surface area ( BSA). The LA distensibility, which demonstrates LA reservoir function, decreased with age and BSA. The LAVs measured by RT3 DE were significantly smaller than those measured by the 2D biplane Simpson's method. The 3D volumetric method had favorable intra-observer and inter-observer agreement. Conclusion The reference values of LAV from early infancy to adulthood were obtained using RT3 DE, which could be useful for future studies in children with congenital heart disease. RT3 DE is a reproducible method and a feasible tool for evaluating the LAV in children. LA reservoir function is likely to decrease with age and increasing of body size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]