2. 2: Study population:
A total of 185 neonates were eligible for study enrollment during this
period. Subjects were eligible for inclusion if they were born term
(37-42 weeks), birth weight above 2.2 kg, normal vital signs and
12-leads ECG for age and normal cardiac structure on echocardiography
examination except for hemodynamically insignificant small patent ductus
arteriosus or small atrial septal defect /patent foramen ovalle.
Exclusion criteria are neonates with significant structural heart
lesions or abnormal cardiac rhythm on 12-leads ECG. Seventeen babies
were excluded due to presence of significant congenital heart lesion and
three babies were excluded due to abnormal electrical cardiac rhythm.
(Figure 1). Another 63 patients were excluded due to suboptimal
echocardiographic image quality i.e. ECG not connected during the study
or missing of any of the required apical views: apical 4-chamber view,
apical 3 chamber view and apical 2 chamber view.
Demographic data for the participants were documented and complete
transthoracic echocardiography study was done for each of them.