Abstract:Objective To study the effect of Doppler echocardiography in the evaluation of left ventricular function changes in neonatal asphyxia. Methods There were 54 cases in neonatal asphyxia group and 40 cases in normal newborn group. Doppler echocardiography was used to determine left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), cardiac output (CO), fraction shortening (FS), early diastolic peak (E peak) and late diastolic peak (A peak) within 1, 3 and 7 days after birth; then E/A was calculated and left ventricular Tei index (LV-Tei) was measured. The indexes were compared between both groups. Results Compared with the control group, LV-Tei and mitral A peak both went up (P < 0.01), while LVEF, left ventricular E/A value, CO value and FS decreased (P < 0.01) in the two groups of asphxia on the 1st postnatal day; but E peak had no significant change (P > 0.05). In the severe asphyxial group, LV-Tei, A peak, FS and EF of on the 3rd day were all significantly different from those on the 1st and 7th day (P < 0.01). In the asphyxial group, PaO2 was positively correlated with left ventricular E/A value, EF value and CO, but negatively correlated with Tei index. Conclusions Doppler echocardiography can reveal the early changes of left ventricular function in asphyxial newborns. It has significant effect on guiding clinical treatment.