Objective: To evaluate cardiac function in fetuses with isolated, massive pleural effusion and to document the effect of pleuro-amniotic shunt on the fetal heart.
Methods: Myocardial performance index (MPI) and indices of systolic cardiac function, including ejection fraction (EF), were measured prospectively in 19 fetuses with isolated pleural effusion, and compared with measurements in a reference population (n=61). Fetuses with massive pleural effusion who subsequently underwent pleuro-amniotic shunt and reversal of lung collapse were also assessed before and after each fetal intervention. Cardiac functions of patients with and without intervention were compared.
Results: EF was lower and ventricular Mod-MPI was higher in the pleural effusion than in the control group, suggesting diastolic dysfunction and poor filling secondary to cardiac compression, as well as a tamponade effect, in fetuses with pleural effusion. Successful pleuro-amniotic shunt affected isovolumetric contraction and relaxation times, eventually resulting in decreased MPI. In the fetuses that underwent stent insertion, however, EFs in both ventricles were not significantly altered.
Conclusion: Fetuses with pleural effusion have impaired systolic and diastolic cardiac function compared with healthy fetuses. Successful pleuro-amniotic shunt improved both systolic and diastolic cardiac function and led to decreased MPI. These results suggest that MPI may be a good marker of the success of fetal intervention such as a pleuro-amniotic shunt.