Do Children with Left Ventricular Noncompaction and a Noncompaction-to-compaction Ratio<2 Have a Better Prognosis?

BackgroundUltrasonography is commonly used to diagnose left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC). A ratio of noncompacted to compacted myocardium (NC/C ratio) >>2 is often used to diagnose LVNC. However, a large proportion of patients with noncompact myocardium have NC/C<2, and the prognosis of these patients have not been studied.MethodsWe included children diagnosed with LVNC between 0 and 15years of age from January 2007 to December 2018. LVNC was diagnosed based on Stollberger standard when over three trabeculae were found to be associated with the interventricular recesses. A maximal end systolic ratio of noncompacted to compacted layers was NC/C ratio. Outcomes for LVNC subjects with NC/C<2 and NC/C>2 were compared using Kaplan-Meier methods.ResultsThere were 124 newly diagnosed LVNC cases, classified as isolated (i-LVNC, n=47) or non-isolated (ni-LVNC, n=77) LVNC and NC/C>2 (n=43) or<2 (n=81). The median (interquartile range) follow-up duration was 12 (3-30) months for all patients and 16 (6-36) months for survivors. Sixteen patients with i-LVNC died during follow-up. Patients with i-LVNC and NC/C>2 had worse survival than those with NC/C<2 (p=0.022).ConclusionsIn conclusion, during a 12-month follow-up, patients with i-LVNC with NC/C<2 had a benign prognosis and better outcomes than those with NC/C>2, suggesting that the former could have a more active and routine lifestyle.