Keri M. Shafer^1,2, Alexander R. Opotowsky^1,2, Jonathan Rhodes¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 903-910, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12661

Abstract Objective: Risk prediction using cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) in complex congenital heart disease tends to either focus on single diagnoses or complete cohorts. We aimed to evaluate patients with two distinct anatomies cared for at a single institution over the same time period to determine CPET variables associated with mortality.
Design: All Fontan and tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) subjects with CPET between November 1, 2002 and December 31, 2014 and subsequently died were identified (cases). Cases were matched 1:3 to controls with similar age, underlying anatomy and timing of exercise test.
Results: Of the 42 cases, 27 had a Fontan… More >

Heather Y. Sun¹, James A. Proudfoot², Rachel T. McCandless¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 748-756, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12648

Abstract Background: Fetal echocardiography can accurately diagnose critical congenital heart disease prenatally, but relies on referrals from abnormalities identified on routine obstetrical ultrasounds. Critical congenital heart disease that is frequently missed due to inadequate outflow tract imaging includes anomalies such as truncus arteriosus, double outlet right ventricle, transposition of the great arteries, tetralogy of Fallot, pulmonary stenosis, and aortic stenosis.
Objective: This study evaluated the prenatal detection rate of critical outflow tract anomalies in a single urban pediatric hospital before and after “AIUM Practice Guideline for the Performance of Obstetric Ultrasound Examinations,” which incorporated outflow tract imaging.
Design: Infants with outflow… More >

Jill M. Steiner¹, James N. Kirkpatrick¹, Susan R. Heckbert², James Sibley³, James A. Fausto³, Ruth A. Engelberg³, J. Randall Curtis³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 721-727, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12638

Abstract Objective: Overall health care resource utilization by adults with congenital heart disease has increased dramatically in the past two decades, yet little is known about utilization patterns at the end of life. The objective of this study is to better under‐ stand the patterns and influences on end‐of‐life care intensity for adults with con‐ genital heart disease.
Methods: We identified a sample of adults with congenital heart disease (n = 65), cancer (n = 10 784), or heart failure (n = 3809) who died between January 2010 and December 2015, cared for in one multi‐hospital health care system. We used… More >

Jennifer P. Lundine^1,2, Robert Dempster^3,4, Kirby Carpenito⁵, Holly Miller‐Tate⁵, Wendelin Burdo‐Hartman^4,6, Elizabeth Halpin², Omar Khalid^4,5

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 706-712, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12636

Abstract Background: Swallowing dysfunction is a known complication for infants with complex congenital heart disease (CHD), but few studies have examined swallowing outcomes following the hybrid procedure for stage 1 palliation in children with single ventricle physiology.
Objectives: (1) Identify the incidence of aspiration in all infants with single ventricle physiology who underwent the hybrid procedure and (2) Compare results of clinical bedside and instrumental swallowing evaluations to examine the predictive value of a less invasive swallowing assessment for this population of high‐risk infants.
Methods: This was a retrospective cohort chart review study. All patients with single‐ventricle physiology who underwent the… More >

Shahnawaz M. Amdani¹, Muhammad Umair M. Mian², Ron L. Thomas³, Robert D. Ross⁴

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.4, pp. 499-505, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12601

Abstract Aim: To evaluate predictors of morbidity and mortality in pediatric patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH), laboratory and echocardiographic measures of PH were analyzed.
Methods: A retrospective review of all infants and children< 2 years of age with PH from January 2011 to August 2016 was conducted. Correlations were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Differences in characteristics between survivors and nonsurvivors were analyzed and Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated.
Results: Of 56 patients, the majority were extremely premature; of African American ethnicity; and had bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Patients who died were more likely to have underlying congenital heart disease; have a… More >

Melissa S.W. Yamauchi^1,2, Michael D. Puchalski^1,2, Hsin Ti Weng¹, Nelangi M. Pinto^1,2, Susan P. Etheridge^1,2, Angela P. Presson¹, Lloyd Y. Tani^1,2, L. LuAnn Minich^1,2, Richard V. Williams^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.3, pp. 432-439, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12591

Abstract Background: Disease progression of an isolated bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) in children is poorly understood and adult management guidelines may not be applicable. Thus, we sought to evaluate disease progression of pediatric isolated BAV and its relationship to current management practices.
Methods: Children with a BAV and ≤mild aortic stenosis (AS) and/or aortic regurgitation (AR) at the time of initial evaluation were included in this retrospective cohort study (1/2005-12/ 2014). Outcomes included change in z-scores for aortic root and ascending aorta diameters, cardiac interventions, adverse outcomes, recommended follow-up interval, and frequency of cardiac imaging studies at each follow up evaluation,… More >

Jing Wu¹, Li Kuang¹, Lijuan Fu²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 194-202, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12586

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) in chronic heart failure (CHF) patients.
Design: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CINHAL, and CBMdisc to collect controlled trials on the application of inspiratory muscle training in CHF patients from the establishment of these databases to November 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, extracted data, and assessed the quality of literature. Meta-analysis was conducted by software RevMan5.3.
Results: Eight studies involving 302 patients were identified. Meta-analysis indicated that IMT significantly improved PI_max, V_E/VCO₂ slope and dyspnea… More >

Clotilde Kingsley¹, Saad Ahmad², John Pappachan¹, Sujata Khambekar¹, Thomas Smith¹, Diane Gardiner¹, James Shambrook¹, Shankar Baskar³, Ryan Moore³, Gruschen Veldtman³

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 288-294, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12569

Abstract Background: The right ventricular (RV) contractile reserve is a measure of the dynamic function of the RV and is a sensitive indicator of volume load. This can be measured noninvasively using the tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) during exercise. We studied the RV contractile reserve of patients after tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair with varying degree of RV dilation and pulmonary regurgitation (PR), and compared them to a control group.
Methods: Twenty-six patients who had undergone TOF repair (mean age 29 ± 10 years) were identified and stratified into three group based on the presence and severity of RV… More >

Felicit e Kamdem^1,2, Danielle Kedy Koum^2,3, Ba Hamadou^1,4, Melanie Yemdji¹, Henry Luma^1,4, Marie Solange Doualla^1,4, Diomède Noukeu⁵, Esther Barla⁵, Christophe Akazong⁵, Anastase Dzudie^1,4, Henry Ngote¹, Yves Monkam¹, Sidiki Mouliom¹, Samuel Kingue^4,6

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.1, pp. 113-117, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12529

Abstract Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases in pediatric pathologies have emerged in the recent years in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with congenital heart diseases (CHDs) being the most frequent. Unfortunately, their diagnosis is usually delayed, thereby increasing childhood morbidity and mortality.
Objectives: Describe the clinical, echocardiographic, and therapeutic aspects of CHDs of children at Douala General Hospital.
Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional descriptive study over a 10-year period, from January 2006 to December 2015. Files and reports of cardiac ultrasounds of patients aged ≤ 15 years were reviewed.
Results: We reviewed the medical records of 1616 children, of which 370 (22.9%) had CHD.… More >

Natasa Karadzov Orlic¹, Amira Egic¹, Barbara Damnjanovic‐Pazin MD2 | Relja Lukic¹, Ivana Joksic³, Zeljko Mikovic¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.14, No.6, pp. 1094-1101, 2019, DOI:10.1111/chd.12852

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze if the addition of simple cardiac scan in cases with increased nuchal translucency (NT) and/or abnormal ductus venosus (DV) blood flow, and/or tricuspid regurgitation (TCR) can improve detection of congenital heart defects (CHD) in chromosomally normal fetuses without non‐ cardiac defects at 11‐13 + 6 gestational weeks in a population of singleton pregnancies.
Methods: During the 10 years period, all singleton pregnancies at 11‐13 + 6 weeks were routinely scanned for NT, DV blood flow and TCR assessment and, if a sin‐ gle of these parameters was abnormal, simple cardiac scan… More >