Evaluation of the Early Effects of Childhood Asthma and Its Treatment on Cardiac Function as Revealed by Two-Dimensional Speckle-Tracking Echocardiography

There is minimal information available regarding the early effects of bronchial asthma (BA) and its treatment on cardiac function in children. We used two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography (2D-STE) to evaluate cardiac function before and after the treatment of childhood BA. We enrolled 44 children with moderate and severe BA who had not been treated over the preceding 3 months or who were newly diagnosed. All children received the same treatment (that recommended by the Global Initiative for Asthma [GINA] in 2017). All children also underwent transthoracic 2D-STE before treatment and 6 months later. Clinical data were compared before and after treatment. After treatment, significant increases were evident in right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic strain, as well as the systolic strain rate. Before and after treatment, the RV global longitudinal systolic strains were − 22.8 ± 3.6 and − 25.1 ± 4.5, respectively (p = 0.036); the RV global longitudinal diastolic strains were − 18.5 ± 6.0 and − 21.5 ± 5.2, respectively (p = 0.038); and the RV systolic strain rates were − 1.26 ± 0.4 and − 1.12 ± 0.3, respectively (p = 0.025). After treatment, significant increases were observed in the right atrial (RA) peak longitudinal strain and strain rate. Before and after treatment, the RA peak atrial longitudinal strains were 32.5 ± 10.8 and 44.7 ± 11.2, respectively (p = 0.042) and the RA longitudinal strain rates were − 1.6 ± 0.3 and − 2.0 ± 0.5, respectively (p = 0.041). RV and RA subclinical dysfunction may develop in children with early-stage BA. However, asthma treatment appears to improve such dysfunction. In children with BA, clinical and subclinical changes in cardiac functions can be easily detected via 2D-STE.