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CTRI Number  CTRI/2023/05/052856 [Registered on: 18/05/2023] Trial Registered Prospectively
Last Modified On: 17/05/2023
Post Graduate Thesis  Yes 
Type of Trial  Interventional 
Type of Study   Diagnostic
Screening 
Study Design  Randomized, Parallel Group Trial 
Public Title of Study   To see how many neonates in nicu have cardiac defects  
Scientific Title of Study   Evaluation of Echocardiography in Neonates in Neonatal intensive care unit.  
Trial Acronym   
Secondary IDs if Any  
Secondary ID  Identifier 
NIL  NIL 
 
Details of Principal Investigator or overall Trial Coordinator (multi-center study)  
Name  Kushal Bhavin Desai 
Designation  Junior Resident (MD PEDIATRICS), MBBS 
Affiliation  DMIHER 
Address  Department of Paediatrics, 2nd floor, DMIHER, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, 442001

Wardha
MAHARASHTRA
442001
India 
Phone  9833537971  
Fax    
Email  kbdesai111@gmail.com  
 
Details of Contact Person
Scientific Query
 
Name  Amar Taksande  
Designation  Professor and Head of Department (Paediatrics) 
Affiliation  DMIHER 
Address  Department of Paediatrics, 2nd floor, DMIHER, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, 442001

Wardha
MAHARASHTRA
442001
India 
Phone  9823369233  
Fax    
Email  amar.taksande@gmail.com  
 
Details of Contact Person
Public Query
 
Name  Kushal Bhavin Desai 
Designation  Junior Resident (MD PEDIATRICS), MBBS 
Affiliation  DMIHER 
Address  Department of Paediatrics, 2nd floor, DMIHER, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, 442001

Wardha
MAHARASHTRA
442001
India 
Phone  9833537971  
Fax    
Email  kbdesai111@gmail.com  
 
Source of Monetary or Material Support  
Datta Meghe Institute of Higher Education and Research, Sawangi meghe 
 
Primary Sponsor  
Name  Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College  
Address  Jnmc, DMIHER, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha 442001 India  
Type of Sponsor  Private medical college 
 
Details of Secondary Sponsor  
Name  Address 
NIL  NIL 
 
Countries of Recruitment     India  
Sites of Study  
No of Sites = 1  
Name of Principal Investigator  Name of Site  Site Address  Phone/Fax/Email 
Dr Kushal Desai  JNMC, AVBRH, Sawangi Meghe  Department of Paediatrics, 2nd floor, JNMC, DMIHER, Sawangi (Meghe), Wardha, 442001
Wardha
MAHARASHTRA 
9833537971

kbdesai111@gmail.com 
 
Details of Ethics Committee  
No of Ethics Committees= 1  
Name of Committee  Approval Status 
DMIHER Institutional Ethics Committee  Approved 
 
Regulatory Clearance Status from DCGI  
Status 
Not Applicable 
 
Health Condition / Problems Studied  
Health Type  Condition 
Patients  (1) ICD-10 Condition: Q249||Congenital malformation of heart,unspecified,  
 
Intervention / Comparator Agent  
Type  Name  Details 
Intervention  Echocardiography  To perfrom 2decho in all sick neonates in NICU at admission  
Comparator Agent  not applicable  none 
 
Inclusion Criteria  
Age From  0.00 Day(s)
Age To  30.00 Day(s)
Gender  Both 
Details  All sick neonates admitted in NICU 
 
ExclusionCriteria 
Details  Full term healthy neonates maintaining oxygen saturation.
Neonates in NICU with hyperbilirubinemia only for phototherapy.
Newborns after exchange transfusion
Congenital malformation 
 
Method of Generating Random Sequence   Computer generated randomization 
Method of Concealment   On-site computer system 
Blinding/Masking   Open Label 
Primary Outcome  
Outcome  TimePoints 
The primary outcomes will be a to assess the cardiac structural or functional
abnormalities of sick neonates in NICU 
At admission  
 
Secondary Outcome  
Outcome  TimePoints 
The secondary outcome will be to know the association between echocardiography
indications and intervention (Medical or surgical) and the relationship between
echocardiography indication and neonatal outcome. 
Time at which any intervention in planned  
 
Target Sample Size   Total Sample Size="114"
Sample Size from India="114" 
Final Enrollment numbers achieved (Total)= "Applicable only for Completed/Terminated trials"
Final Enrollment numbers achieved (India)="Applicable only for Completed/Terminated trials" 
Phase of Trial   N/A 
Date of First Enrollment (India)   31/05/2023 
Date of Study Completion (India) Applicable only for Completed/Terminated trials 
Date of First Enrollment (Global)  Date Missing 
Date of Study Completion (Global) Applicable only for Completed/Terminated trials 
Estimated Duration of Trial   Years="3"
Months="0"
Days="0" 
Recruitment Status of Trial (Global)   Not Applicable 
Recruitment Status of Trial (India)  Not Yet Recruiting 
Publication Details   None yet  
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement

Will individual participant data (IPD) be shared publicly (including data dictionaries)?  

Response - YES
  1. What data in particular will be shared?
    Response - All of the individual participant data collected during the trial, after de-identification.

  2. What additional supporting information will be shared?
    Response -  Study Protocol

  3. Who will be able to view these files?
    Response - Researchers who provide a methodologically sound proposal.

  4. For what types of analyses will this data be available?
    Response - For individual participant data meta-analysis.

  5. By what mechanism will data be made available?
    Response (Others) -  by email id

  6. For how long will this data be available start date provided 10-08-2022 and end date provided 22-04-2027?
    Response - Beginning 3 months and ending 5 years following article publication.

  7. Any URL or additional information regarding plan/policy for sharing IPD? 
    Additional Information - nil
Brief Summary   Title of Article: STUDY PROTOCOL: Evaluation of Echocardiography in Sick
Neonates in Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Abstract
Background: Echocardiography plays an increasing role in neonatal intensive care units, and
neonatologists increasingly use it to make clinical decisions. It is the utilization of cardiac
ultrasound at the bedside to assess longitudinal changes in both functional and hemodynamic
parameters. Information that reflects cardiovascular capacity and systemic and pulmonary
blood flow in preterm and term neonates can be observed. Analyzing hemodynamics via
echocardiography at the bedside may be considered an addition to the clinical examination to
assess cardiovascular wellbeing in critically ill infants. Our primary goal in this study is to
determine whether sick neonates have heart structural or functional abnormalities via
echocardiography.
Objectives: To determine the correlation between echocardiographic indications and
intervention in sick newborns.
Material & Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study will be conducted in the
Neonatology Department, JNMC, Sawangi, Wardha. Each sick newborn will be asked for
demographic information, including age, gender, gestational age (GA), and birth weight. All
sick neonates admitted to NICU will be selected as per the inclusion criteria in a non-
randomized manner and will be subjected to echocardiography. If echocardiography reveals
any abnormal findings, they will be followed up for any sequelae. The indications for
echocardiography, the echocardiographic results and any changes in clinical management
will be decided.
Result: After completing the study, we will know the indication of echocardiography in sick
neonates. We will come to see the prevalence of     
prevalence of cardiac structural or functional abnormality in sick neonates.
Conclusion: This study will provide a cardiac structural or functional abnormality in the sick
newborns.
Keywords: Cardiac Function, Sick Newborn, Echocardiography, Neonatology
INTRODUCTION
A delayed diagnosis of critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) can lead to cardiac failure,
cardiovascular collapse, and even death if not diagnosed early. CCHD in the newborn may
have low oxygen saturations unrecognized clinically. Over the past few years, the role of
echocardiography in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) has changed. The role of
echocardiography in neonatal intensive care units is rapidly evolving, and increasingly
neonatologists are using it in making clinical decisions in sick infants. Functional
echocardiography is the bedside utilization of cardiac ultrasound to take after functional and
haemodynamic changes longitudinally. Information that reflects cardiovascular capacity and
systemic and pulmonary blood flow in preterm and term neonates can be observed. In
critically ill infants, echocardiography provides direct assessment of hemodynamics at the
bedside and can be considered an extension of the clinical examination to assess
cardiovascular wellbeing (1-2). The physiological information may target specific
interventions based on the underlying pathophysiology. In a neonatal intensive care setting,
echocardiography is used to diagnose pulmonary hypertension, patent ductus arteriosus,
hemodynamic evaluation, assessment of cardiac function, and recognition of pericardial
effusion and cardiac tamponade (3-4). In considering the differential diagnosis of a newborn
presenting with cyanosis, cardiorespiratory distress, and a shocklike appearance, the

physician must include congenital heart disease, other causes of heart disease such as
myocarditis, and pulmonary, central nervous system, hematologic, infectious, and metabolic
diseases. The physical examination, electrocardiographic, and chest X-ray findings during the
early neonatal period may fail to reliably identify patients with congenital heart disease in the
first few days of life. In contrast, because echocardiography displays cardiac anatomy, it can
immediately provide the information needed to separate most patients with significant
congenital heart disease from the others. The gold standard diagnostic tool for evaluating
hemodynamic stability in patients with pericardial effusion, cardiac tamponade, and cardiac
abnormalities such as congenital heart defects or valve problems is echocardiography (4-6).
Further, in some of the defects, the echocardiographic findings are sufficient and unique
enough for an accurate diagnosis (5-7). Data on echocardiographic utility in sick neonates in
NICU at the rural hospital are minimal.
Research question
Do sick neonates in NICU have cardiac structural or functional abnormalities?
Our Hypothesis
Our hypothesis is that sick neonates have cardiac abnormalities which correlate with the
neonatal outcome.
Aims & Objectives
Aim: To find out the prevalence of cardiac structural or functional abnormality in sick
neonates by echocardiography.
Objectives:
ï‚· To know the association between echocardiography indications and intervention.
ï‚· To know the association between echocardiography indication and neonatal outcome.
ï‚· To find out the correlation of cardiac abnormality with neonatal outcome.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
a. Study Setting
This study will be conducted in the Neonatology unit, “Department of Pediatrics, in
Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College & AVBR Hospital, Sawangi, Wardha”.
b. Sources of Data
Study members: All members in this study will be critically ill sick neonates who will be
admitted to the NICU. All sick neonates admitted to NICU will be selected as per the
inclusion criteria in a non-randomized manner and will be subjected to echocardiography on
selected days. If echocardiography reveals any abnormal findings, they will be followed up
for any sequelae.
Follow-up echocardiography will be done in the case of the presence of any findings.
Morphology of conclusions will be studied and recorded, and clinical correlation with various
findings on echocardiography will be done. Neonates will be followed till recovery and
discharge from NICU. Information about all echocardiograms performed on the neonatal unit
will be collected prospectively. Indications for echocardiography, echocardiographic
findings, and any changes in clinical management will be determined.
Inclusion & Exclusion Criteria
Inclusion criteria
ï‚· Sick neonates in NICU.
ï‚· Written informed consent given by the parents

Exclusion Criteria
ï‚· Full term healthy neonates maintaining oxygen saturation.
ï‚· Neonates in NICU with hyperbilirubinemia only for phototherapy.
ï‚· Newborns after exchange transfusion
ï‚· Congenital malformation
c. Study Design: Cross-Sectional study
d. Time Frame / Duration: 3 year


e. Methodology
A detailed information sheet will be given to the newborn parents in which the methodology
of treatment will explain in their local language. Due permission of the ethics committee of
the institute will be taken before starting the study.
f. Assessments
Demographic information will be collected for all sick neonates (study cases), including age,
gender, gestational age(GA), and birth weight. For all study cases, perinatal history and
clinical examination were made. Laboratory examinations will be included a complete blood
picture, blood grouping, and a peripheral smear(ps) test will also be done in all study cases.
Definition of Sick Neonates includes high-risk neonates with any of the following: Neonatal
convulsions, birth asphyxia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy(HIE), respiratory distress,
neonatal sepsis, preterm neonates, neonates born out of traumatic/instrumental labour,
metabolic disturbances with convulsions, congenital malformation of the central nervous
system, and neural tube defects.
Factors identifying the neonate as a “sick neonate” will be assessed by taking detailed
maternal history and looking into perinatal and antenatal records.
All sick neonates admitted to NICU will be selected as per the inclusion criteria in a non-
randomized manner and will be subjected to echocardiography on selected days. If
echocardiography reveals any abnormal findings, they will be followed up for any sequelae.
Follow-up echocardiography will be done in the case of the presence of any findings.
Morphology of conclusions will be studied and recorded, and clinical correlation with various

findings on echocardiography will be done. Neonates will be followed till recovery and
discharge from NICU. Information about all echocardiograms performed on the neonatal unit
will be collected prospectively. Indications for echocardiography, echocardiographic
findings, and any changes in clinical management will be determined.
h. Echocardiography examination
We will be used M-mode and 2D-Echo to measure the LV diameter during systole and
diastole and also to measures the thickness of IVS during diastole and also thickness of LV
posterior wall. The fractional shortening and ejection fraction will be measured by the m-
mode and simpson methods. All echocardiographic data will be taken as per American
Society of Echocardiography (8-9).
VARIABLES
We will do the following Important VARIABLE
ï‚· Cause of Sick Neonates
ï‚· Gestational Age
ï‚· Birth weight
ï‚· Intervention (Medical or Surgical)
ï‚· Congenital heart disease
ï‚· M Mode ( FS & EF for the systolic function of the heart )
ï‚· Pulse-Doppler (Diastolic function of the ventricle )
Sample size calculation
Population size(for finite population correction factor or
fpc)(N):

10000
Hypothesized % frequency of outcome factor in the population
(p)

8%+/-5
Confidence limits as % of 100(absolute +/- %)(d) 5%
Design effect (for cluster surveys-DEFF) 1
Confidence level (%) 95%
Sample size Required 114
Formula used for calculation of Sample size
 n = [DEFF*Np(1-p)]/ [(d 2 /Z 2 1-α/2 *(N-1)+p*(1-p)] 
Statistical Analysis
Data will be entered into Microsoft Excel sheet and statistical analysis will be done on
statistical software STATA 12. For descriptive statistics, mean±standard deviationwill be
used, median and interquartile range for quantitative variables, and percentage with number
for categories. Relationshipof various demographic, clinical characteristics and
echocardiography diagnosis with outcome will be evaluatedemploying Chi-square test,
Fischer’s exact test for categorical data and independent t test forcontinuous data with normal
distribution. Spearman (parametric) or Pearson (non-parametric)correlations will be applied
to determine the association between dependent and independent variables. P value will be
considered significant if less than 0.05.
Expected Result

After completion of the study we will come to know the indication of the echocardiography
in sick neonates. We will come to know the prevalence of prevalence of cardiac structural
or functional abnormality in sick neonates To find out the correlation of cardiac abnormality
with neonatal outcome. We will come to know that in how many cases this investigation will
changed the clinical management and neonatal outcome.
Discussion
Congenital heart defects (CHD) are a leading cause of infant deaths in the developed world.
A delayed diagnosis of CHD was associated with a worse preoperative condition.
Echocardiography is being utilized progressively in the neonatal unit and has been indicated
to have a high return for structural and functional cardiac abnormalities. Echocardiography
has substantially improved the care of the neonate with a hemodynamically significant patent
arterial duct, the hypotensive infant, the cyanosed infant with or without persistent pulmonary
hypertension of the newborn, the dysmorphic infant, and the infant with a heart murmur in
the intensive care unit (9-10). An echocardiogram in the neonatal unit is used in critically ill
infants to diagnose or exclude suspected congenital heart disease and assess cardiovascular
function. In the hypotensive or shocked infants, there is no better way to find a treatable
underlying cause of their circulatory failure. Myocardial dysfunction, a sizeable ductal shunt,
and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in infants of diabetic mothers are all examples of
circulatory failure that could be diagnosed or excluded by echocardiography (11-12). Brown
KL et al. (11) reported that 25% of infants with CCHD were not diagnosed with heart disease
until after discharge from the nursery. Several children with CCHD are so severely
compromised at the presentation that they die before surgical intervention. CCHDs are
structural heart defects often associated with hypoxia among infants during the newborn
period. Infants with CCHDs are at risk for significant morbidity or mortality early in life
because of the closing of the ductus arteriosus or other physiologic changes. A retrospective
study was conducted on sick neonates to evaluate the influence of echocardiographic
examination on the clinical management Kadivar M et al. (10). The most common clinical
indications for an echocardiogram were asymptomatic murmurs (45%) followed by
extracardiac anomalies/dysmorphic features (24%). The congenital structural abnormalities
(33%), hemodynamically significant patent arterial duct (3%), persistent pulmonary
hypertension of the newborn (6%), and left ventricular dysfunction (3%) were the
echocardiographic findings. Another study was conducted by S Moss et al. (13 ) on the
evaluation of echocardiography in the neonatal unit. He reported 44 infants with a structural
cardiac abnormality and a further 17 infants with a trivial abnormality by echocardiography.
Echocardiography prompted a specific change in clinical management in 64 (78%)
babies. Du ZD et al. (14) stated his study stated that 84% of heart murmurs in neonates were
due to heart diseases, and only 16% were innocent murmurs. Chioukh FZ et al. (
15) reported that the main signs indicating the echocardiogram were the heart murmur (22
cases) followed by cyanosis (6 patients). A malformation association or a chromosomal
aberration have been noted in 36% of cases. Another study conducted to evaluate the cardiac
status of newborns by Arshad MS et al. (16 ) indicated that 1523 (55.8%) newborns as
structurally and functionally normal, 866 (31.7%) had congenital heart disease, 69 (2.5%)
duct dependent lesions, 248 (9.1%) persistent pulmonary hypertension and 23 (0.8%) left
ventricular (LV) dysfunction but with a structurally normal heart. The prospective

observational study of neonates in a tertiary Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in Pune
(India) was done by Khamkar AM et al. (17) mentioned that the most frequent indication for
functional echocardiography ( FnECHO ) were Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) assessment
(n= 174, 50%), followed by haemodynamic instability (n=43, 12.36%). They reported that
the results of FnECHO modified treatment in 148 cases (42.50%) in addition and change in
the treatment or avoidance of unnecessary intervention. This retrospective study conducted
by Maliheh Kadivar et al. (10) reported that echocardiography changed the clinical
management in at least 66% of newborns scanned, including emergency surgical intervention
for 7%, medical treatment for 22%, and routine cardiologic followup for 37% of patients.
Another retrospective study conducted by. Hossein AM et al. (18) recommended that cardiac
causes be more considered in term and near-term newborns with respiratory distress in
addition to the previous inclusion criteria of the neonates admitted to NICU requiring
echocardiography, including prolonged respiratory distress murmurs and rales. We will
disseminate the results of this research via publication in high-impact peer-reviewed journals,
and presentation at international conferences.

Outcome measures
ï‚· The primary outcomes will be a to assess the cardiac structural or functional
abnormalities of sick neonates in NICU
ï‚· The secondary outcome will be to know the association between echocardiography
indications and intervention (Medical or surgical) and the relationship between
echocardiography indication and neonatal outcome.
 Scope of the study
· Echocardiography is widely used for diagnosing cardiac structural or functional
abnormalities as it is a non-invasive, readily available investigation.
· Minimal data on echocardiography utility in sick neonates in the NICU at the rural
hospital.
· Heart murmur in neonates could be a symptom of CHD, and timely echocardiography is
essential in diagnosing the type of disease.
Limitation
· Area of coverage will be single centre study
Implication
· After completing the study, we will know the percentage of changes in the management
of the newborns after the echocardiography scan. Also, after echocardiography, we will
get an idea of the neonatal outcomes of the sick newborn in the intensive care unit.

 
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