Limitations
One of the major limitations of our study is that the sample group is
small and it is a single-center study. In addition, inflammatory markers
in maternal blood and cord blood were not studied. The results were not
confirmed by echocardiography at postnatal follow-up of the newborns,
which is another limitation of our study. There are insufficient data in
the literature on the fetal cardiac effects of inhaled corticosteroid
use. No subgroup analysis was performed according to the severity of
maternal asthma and the type of medical treatment.ConclusionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to examine fetal cardiac
function in pregnant women with asthma. We found that maternal asthma
affects fetal diastolic and early systolic cardiac functions, but global
fetal cardiac functions do not change. Diastolic heart functions may be
affected by the duration of maternal asthma. We believe that fetal
echocardiographic assessment plays an important role in maternal
systemic and inflammatory diseases. Further studies are needed to
compare fetal cardiac function parameters in relation to disease
severity and type of medical treatment with additional patient groups.