Abstract 14970: Normative Echocardiographic Data for Premature Infants Between 23 to 26- and 6/7-weeks Gestational Age

Background: Echocardiography is utilized to assess cardiac structure and function. In infants, children, and adolescents, a normative data set can be utilized to evaluate cardiac size relative to patient body size and provides the clinician with a quantified z-score based on body surface area. A complete normative data set for premature infants is not yet available. The aim of this study was to develop a normative data set for commonly measured cardiac structures in a cohort of premature infants. Methods and Results: Single center retrospective echocardiographic study in a cohort of premature infants without congenital heart disease. A total of 184 infants admitted at the University of Iowa’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit between 2009-2019 were included in the study. All infants were between 23 to 26- and 6/7-weeks gestational age. We considered patients with a patent ductus arteriosus and/or a patent foramen ovale as having normal intra-cardiac anatomy given their prematurity. Some infants had numerous echocardiograms during this time interval which resulted in 439 utilized echocardiogram. Each echocardiogram used was interpreted individually regardless if the patient had multiple between the gestational ages of 23 and 26- and 6/7-weeks. Commonly examined cardiac structures were assessed via 2-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography. The mean and standard deviations were obtained for each cardiac structure and grouped by week of gestational age ( Table 1 ). Conclusions: We present normative data for commonly measured cardiac structures based on gestational age in a premature patient population. This information is valuable for clinicians to assess for appropriate cardiac structural development and may be utilized to guide clinical management and need for possible intervention as the child continues to develop and grow.