Janet M. Simsic, Kirby-Rose Carpenito, Kristin Kirchner, Stephanie Peters, PNP-AC, Holly Miller-Tate, Brian Joy, Mark Galantowicz

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 275-281, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12435

Abstract Objective: Enteral feeding is associated with decreased infection rates, decreased mechanical ventilation, decreased hospital length of stay, and improved wound healing. Enteral feeding difficulties are common in congenital heart disease. Our objective was to develop experience-based newborn feeding guidelines for the initiation and advancement of enteral feeding in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit.
Design: This is a retrospective analysis of a quality improvement project.
Setting: This quality improvement project was performed in a cardiothoracic intensive care unit.
Patients: Newborns admitted to the cardiothoracic intensive care unit for cardiac surgery from January 2011 to May 2015 were retrospectively reviewed.
Intervention: Newborn… More >

Anushree Agarwal, Fatima Samad, Lindsey Kalvin, Michelle Bush, A. Jamil Tajik

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 143-152, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12453

Abstract Introduction: Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) is a rare congenital disease that frequently remains undiagnosed until adulthood, especially when there is an absence of other congenital anomalies. Adults with ccTGA may remain asymptomatic and their diagnosis could be missed on initial evaluation, or it could be diagnosed incidentally as an evaluation of murmur. We aim to report the different presentations of ccTGA in eight adult patients and review the key features required to suspect the diagnosis during an initial visit.
Cases: We present some illustrative cases of ccTGA patients who had diverse presentations ranging… More >

Dawn Ilardi^1,2, Kim E. Ono^1,2, Rebecca McCartney³, Wendy Book⁴, Anthony Y. Stringer²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 166-173, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12434

Abstract Objective: Adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at increased risk of psychological disorders and cognitive deficiencies due to structural/acquired neurological abnormalities and neurodevelopmental disorders as children. However, limited information is known about the neuropsychological functioning of adults with CHD. This study screened neuropsychological abilities and explored group differences related to cardiac disease severity and neurological risk factors in adults with CHD.
Design: Participants completed brief neuropsychological testing. Information about neurobehavioral and psychological symptoms, employment, education, and disability were also collected from the patient and a family member.
Results: Forty-eight participants with adult CHD completed neuropsychological testing. Visuospatial… More >

Jacqueline H. Sanz^1,2, Madison M. Berl^1,2, Anna C. Armour¹, Jichuan Wang^3,4, Yao I. Cheng³, Mary T. Donofrio^5,6

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 202-209, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12427

Abstract Objective: Executive function, a set of cognitive skills important to social and academic outcomes, is a specific area of cognitive weakness in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). We evaluated the prevalence and profile of executive dysfunction in a heterogeneous sample of school aged children with CHD, examined whether children with executive dysfunction are receiving school services and support, and identified risk factors for executive dysfunction at school age.
Design: Ninety-one school aged patients completed questionnaires, including the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and a medical history questionnaire. An age- and gendermatched control sample was… More >

Safwat A. Aly¹, David Zurakowski², Penny Glass³, Kami Skurow-Todd⁴, Richard A. Jonas⁵, Mary T. Donofrio⁴

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 188-195, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12426

Abstract Importance: There are no well-established noninvasive biomarkers for identifying patients at risk for poor outcome after surgery for congenital heart disease. Few studies have assessed prognostic accuracy of cerebral tissue oxygenation index (cTOI) measured by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).
Objective: To assess the utility of noninvasive NIRS monitoring as a predictor of outcomes after neonatal cardiac surgery through measurement of cTOI. To examine the utility of noninvasive NIRS monitoring in combination with lactate concentration and inotropic score in prediction of outcomes after neonatal cardiac surgery.
Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort study.
Setting: Operating room and cardiac intensive care unit, Children’s… More >

Giovanni Biglino^1,2, Claudio Capelli^2,3, Despina Koniordou³, Di Robertshaw², Lindsay-Kay Leaver², Silvia Schievano^2,3, Andrew M. Taylor^2,3, Jo Wray²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 113-118, 2017

Abstract Background: Nurse education and training are key to providing congenital heart disease (CHD) patients with consistent high standards of care as well as enabling career progression. One approach for improving educational experience is the use of 3D patient-specific models.
Objectives: To gather pilot data to assess the feasibility of using 3D models of CHD during a training course for cardiac nurses; to evaluate the potential of 3D models in this context, from the nurses’ perspective; and to identify possible improvements to optimise their use for teaching.
Design: A cross-sectional survey.
Setting: A national training week for cardiac nurses.
Participants: One… More >

Leda Klouda¹, Wayne J. Franklin¹, Anita Saraf^1,2, Dhaval R. Parekh¹, David D. Schwartz³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 91-98, 2017

Abstract Objective: Congenital heart disease (CHD) can affect the developing central nervous system, resulting in neurocognitive and behavioral deficits. Preoperative neurological abnormalities as well as sequelae of the open heart operations required to correct structural abnormalities of the heart contribute to these deficits. There are few studies examining the neurocognitive functioning of adults with CHD. This study sought to investigate multiple domains of neurocognitive functioning in adult survivors of CHD who had childhood cardiac surgery with either moderate or severe disease complexity.
Design: A total of 48 adults (18–49 years of age) who had undergone cardiac surgery for… More >

Benjamin H. Goot, Sonali Patel, Brian Fonseca

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 84-90, 2017

Abstract Objective: When imaging the lower airway by MRI, the traditional technique turbo spin echo (TSE) results in high quality 2D images, however planning and acquisition times are lengthy. An alternative, delayed volume interpolated breath-holds examination (VIBE), is a 3D gradient echo technique that produces high spatial resolution imaging of the airway in one breath-hold. The objective of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the accuracy of lower airway measurements obtained by delayed VIBE when compared to TSE.
Design: Patients with congenital heart disease who underwent a cardiac MRI (CMR) that included a delayed VIBE sequence from 5/2008… More >

Camden Hebson^1,2, Wendy Book¹, Robert W. Elder³, Ryan Ford⁴, Maan Jokhadar¹, Kirk Kanter⁵, Brian Kogon⁵, Adrienne H. Kovacs⁶, Rebecca D. Levit¹, Michael Lloyd¹, Kevin Maher², Preeti Reshamwala⁴, Fred Rodriguez III^1,2, Rene Romero⁷, Thor Tejada¹, Anne Marie Valente⁸, Gruschen Veldtman⁹, Michael McConnell^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 6-16, 2017

Abstract “Frontiers in Fontan Failure” was the title of a 2015 conference sponsored by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University School of Medicine. In what is hoped to be the first of many such gatherings, speakers and attendees gathered to discuss the problem of long-term clinical deterioration in these patients. Specific focuses included properly defining the problem and then discussing different treatment strategies, both medical and surgical. The health of the liver after Fontan palliation was a particular point of emphasis, as were quality of life and future directions. More >

Jonathan Komisar¹, Shubhika Srivastava², Miwa Geiger², John Doucette³, Helen Ko², Jay Shenoy², Rajesh Shenoy²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.1, pp. 67-73, 2017

Abstract Background: Antenatal diagnosis of congenital heart defects (CHD) can impact outcomes in neonates with severe CHD. Obstetric screening guidelines and the indications for fetal echocardiography (FE) have evolved in an attempt to improve the early prenatal detection of CHD. Analyzing yield for specific indications will help clinicians better stratify at-risk pregnancies.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study of all FE performed between 2000 and 2010 at a single tertiary care academic medical center in New York City. A total of 9878 FE met inclusion criteria for our study. In cases of multiple gestations (MG), each fetus was counted as… More >