Electrocardiographic and Echocardiographic Changes in Perinatal Asphyxia

Objective. To study the usefulness of electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography (ECHO) in evaluating myocardial damage in perinatal asphyxia. Methods. Thirty term babies with perinatal asphyxia without any congenital malformations were selected as cases. They were compared with thirty healthy term babies without asphyxia. Myocardial dysfunction was evaluated using clinical examination, electrocardiography and echocardiography. Results. Among the 30 cases, 22 had evidence of myocardial involvement while one baby in the control group had ECG evidence of cardiac involvement. Grade I ECG changes were present in 6 (20%) cases, Grade II in 12 (40%) and Grade III in 4(13.3%). ECG was normal without any evidence of ischemia in all the controls except one baby who had ST depression with T-wave inversion. All the cases and controls had normal sinus rhythm. Tricuspid regurgitation was present in 7 (23.3%), right ventricular hypokinesia in 6 (20%) and left ventricular hypokinesia in 4(13.3%) cases. The ventricular function was normal in all the controls. Conclusion. Electrocardiography (ECG) and echocardiography (ECHO) are useful in evaluating the severity of myocardial damage in perinatal asphyxia. [Indian J Pediatr 2009; 76 (3) : 261-264] E-mail: drvishnubhat@yahoo.com