Non-invasive examination of pulmonary stenosis by transcutaneous Doppler technique.

Analysis of the transcutaneous Doppler velocity blood flow curve was performed in a 12 year old girl with pulmonary stenosis. The blood flow indices of the pulmonary artery were compared with those obtained in a control group.

Physical exercise effect on certain acid-base equilibrium parameters in children with small ventricular septal defects.

Forty-seven children aged from 7 to 16 years were studied: 28 children had small ventricular septum defects and 19 healthy children served as controls. The following acid-base equilibrium parameters were determined in all children: pH, BE, pCO2, metabolic pH and respiratory pH in the arterialized capillary blood taken from the fingertip using an Astrup microapparatus. The determinations were made during three types of physical exercise: normal everyday locomotion and graded exercise raising the heart rate to about 170-180/min and about 190/min. The intensity of the exercise in the step test was calculated from the formula of Nikodemowicz. It was found that metabolic acidosis during these three exercise workloads developed significantly more easily in the children with septum defect than in healthy controls. The same differences were observed in the children with septum defect during the most intense exercise in relation to the exercise of lower intensity.

Estimation of the correlation between the transcutaneous aortic flow velocity curve and impedance cardiogram in normal children.

83 measurements of stroke volume from an impedance cardiogram and of the corresponding area under the systolic complex of the aortic flow velocity curve obtained by means of the transcutaneous ultrasound Doppler device were carried out in 15 normal children. Between the "ideal" complexes and those requiring a little reconstruction (below 10% of maximal height of the given complex) and corresponding stroke volumes, significant correlation and regression coefficients were found. It has been suggested that the aortic flow velocity curve obtained by means of the transcutaneous ultrasound nondirectional Doppler device would be helpful in approximately estimating the stroke volume in normal children.

Impedance cardiography in normal children.

Cardiac output, cardiac index (cardiac output/body surface) and stroke volume were investigated in 20 normal children by means of impedance cardiography. Significant differences were found in the mean values of cardiac output and cardiac index between both sexes, as well as in means of cardiac index between younger and older children. The obtained data generally agreed with the results of other investigators performing the examination by using the same technique and other methods.

Aortic blood flow patterns: a transcutaneous Doppler study.

In 35 normal children some variables of the aortic arch blood flow were studied by transcutaneous ultrasonic Doppler technique. Mean values for peak velocity (V), acceleration in early systole (Acc), duration of the acceleration phase, as well as the area under the early phase of flow systolic complex (S) were calculated. A significant difference in S value was found between girls and boys. Some significant correlation and regression coefficients were found between the mentioned indices of the aortic blood flow on the one hand, and the weight, height, age and heart rate on the other. The highest values for the correlation coefficients occurred in girls between V and Acc on the one hand, and the weight of the subjects on the other.