Three-dimensional Speckle Tracking Imaging for the Assessment of Left Ventricular Systolic Function of Mild Systemic Lupus Erythematosus / 中国医学影像学杂志

ABSTRACT

Purpose Heart damage occurs frequently in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE), and most of the patients have no obvious symptoms. In this study, three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI) was used to assess the systolic function of left ventricle, for early diagnosis of cardiac function changes in patients with mild SLE. Materials and Methods Thirty-six patients with clinical diagnosed mild SLE were enrolled and 40 healthy volunteers were selected as control group. All the participants underwent both conventional echocardiographic and 3D-STI examinations, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVEDs), interventricular septal depth (IVSd), left ventricular posterior wall depth (LVPWd), left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS), left ventricular global circumferential strain (GCS), left ventricular global radial strain (GRS) and left ventricular global area strain (GAS) were compared between the two groups. Results The GLS, GCS, GRS and GAS of the study group were all lower than the control group, and the difference was statistically significant (P0.05). Conclusion 3D-STI is able to make an objective evaluation of the left ventricular systolic function for patients with mild SLE, and provide help for clinical cardiac function monitoring.