Assessment of myocardial function in preterm infants with patent ductus arteriosus using tissue Doppler imaging.

Objective: To assess myocardial function in preterm infants with different degrees of ductal patency in the first week of life using tissue Doppler imaging.

Study Design: Infants <30 weeks of gestation underwent echocardiography on day 3. A total of 72 infants were recruited into the study and categorised into three groups (i) haemodyamically significant ductus arteriosus, (ii) patent ductus arteriosus and (iii) no patent ductus arteriosus.