Abstract：Objective To evaluate the changes in the pulmonary artery pressure and the right ventricular diastolic function in children with bronchial asthma. Methods The acceleration time corrected for heart rate (ATc) and the right ventricular diastolic function were measured to estimate the pulmonary artery pressure by Doppler echocardiography in 20 controls and 31 cases with asthma (14 mild-moderate and 17 severe cases). The blood gas analysis was also surveyed. Results ① The pulmonary artery pressure increased in all the asthmatic patients, and the pressure was much higher in the severe group (RPEP/AT 1.26±0.19) compare to the mild-moderate group (1.12±0.15, P<0.01 ) and control group (0.85±0.14, P<0.01). ②A significant difference in the right ventricular diastolic function was found between the two groups. The right ventricular diastolic function of the severe patients was markedly decreased compared to that of the mild-moderate patients (E/A 0.98±0.34 vs. 1.11±0.29, P<0.01)and controls (E/A 1.41±0.29, P<0.01). The severe asthmatic children always had hypoxemia (PaO 2 7.02±0.80 kPa). Conclusions Pulmonary hypertension and right ventricular diastolic dysfunction are common in bronchial asthmatic children and they are correlated with disease severity.
