Karrie F. Downing^1,2, Matthew E. Oster^1,3, Sherry L. Farr¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.4, pp. 497-506, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12476

Abstract Objective: A substantial percentage of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) fail to transfer to adult care, resulting in increased risk of morbidity and mortality. Transition planning discussions with a provider may increase rates of transfer, yet little is known about frequency and content of these discussions. We assessed prevalence and predictors of transition-related discussions between providers and parents of children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN) and heart problems, including CHD.
Design: Using parent-reported data on 12- to 17-year-olds from the 2009–2010 National Survey of CSHCN, we calculated adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) for associations between demographic factors and provider discussions… More >

Jessica L. Bean Jaworski, Thomas Flynn, Nancy Burnham, Jesse L. Chittams, Therese Sammarco, Marsha Gerdes, Judy C. Bernbaum, Robert R. Clancy, Cynthia B. Solot, Elaine H. Zackai, Donna M. McDonald-McGinn, J. William Gaynor

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.4, pp. 421-429, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12461

Abstract Objective: Atypical development, behavioral difficulties, and academic underachievement are common morbidities in children with a history of congenital heart defects and impact quality of life. Language and social-cognitive deficits have been described, which are associated with autism spectrum disorders. The current study aimed to assess the rates of autism spectrum disorders in a large sample of children with a history of congenital heart defects and to assess medical, behavioral, and individual factors that may be associated with the risk of autism spectrum disorders.
Design: Participants included 195 children with a history of congenital heart defects, who are followed in a… More >

Talha Niaz¹, Joseph T. Poterucha¹, Jonathan N. Johnson^1,2, Cecilia Craviari¹, Thomas Nienaber¹, Jared Palfreeman¹, Frank Cetta^1,2, Donald J. Hagler^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 261-269, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12429

Abstract Background: Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) occurs both as an isolated cardiac lesion and in association with congenital heart defects (CHD). Their aim was to identify the incidence and morphology of BAV in patients with coexisting CHD and compare their disease progression to patients with isolated BAV.
Methods: The Mayo Clinic echocardiography database was retrospectively analyzed to identify pediatric and young adult patients (≤22 years) who were diagnosed with BAV from 1990 to 2015. The morphology of BAV was determined from the echocardiographic studies before any intervention.
Results: Overall, 1010 patients with BAV were identified, 619 (61%) with isolated BAV and… More >

Marco Astengo^1,2*, Caroline Berntsson^3*, Åse A. Johnsson^3,4, Peter Eriksson^1,2, Mikael Dellborg^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.2, pp. 174-180, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12424

Abstract Objective: Coarctation of the aorta (CoA) is a common condition. Adult patients with newly diagnosed CoA and patients with recurring or residual CoA require evaluation of the severity of aortic obstruction. Cardiac catheterization is considered the gold standard for the evaluation of hemodynamically significant CoA. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of grown-up congenital heart disease (GUCH) include noninvasive criteria for identifying significant CoA. Our aim was to investigate the ability of the Class I and Class IIa ESC recommendations to identify significant CoA at cardiac catheterization.
Design: Sixty-six adult patients with native or recurrent CoA… More >

Shelby C. White¹, Jennifer Sedler², Trahern W. Jones³, Michael Seckeler¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.6, pp. 1045-1049, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12673

Abstract Objective: Applications of three‐dimensional (3D) printed models in medicine in‐ clude preprocedure planning, patient education, and clinical training. Reproducing complex anatomy as a 3D printed model can be useful for understanding congenital heart defects (CHD). We hypothesized that using 3D printed models during didactic sessions with resident physicians will improve trainees’ understanding of CHD.
Design and intervention: We performed a prospective, randomized educational in‐ tervention for teaching pediatric and pediatric/emergency medicine residents about simple (ventricular septal defect [VSD]) and moderately complex (tetralogy of Fallot [ToF]) CHD. Residents were divided into two groups: intervention and control. Each group completed a subjective… More >

Paul C. Helm¹, Ulrike M. M. Bauer^1,2, Hashim Abdul‐Khaliq^2,3, Helmut Baumgartner^1,4, Hans‐Heiner Kramer⁵, Christian Schlensak^2,7, Thomas Pickardt¹, Anne‐Karin Kahlert^5,6*, Marc‐Phillip Hitz^5*

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.5, pp. 685-689, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12630

Abstract Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) affects up to 1% of live births the etiol‐ ogy remains relatively poorly understood. Thus, cardiac research is needed to under‐ stand the underlying pathomechanisms ofthe disease.About51 000CHDpatients are registered in the German National Register for Congenital Heart Defects (NRCHD). Patients and relatives were interviewed online about their willingness to support ge‐ netic heart research in order to donate a biological sample.
Methods: Study participants were recruited via the database of the NRCHD. Seven thousand nine hundred eighty‐nine patients were invited to participate in the study. Participants have been asked to rate three questions on… More >

Sherry L. Farr¹, Karrie F. Downing^1,2, Tiffany Riehle-Colarusso¹, Ginnie Abarbanell^1,3

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.4, pp. 633-639, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12621

Abstract Objective: To examine how cognitive and motor limitations in children with heart disease are associated with education and participation in extracurricular activities.
Design: Using 2009–2010 parent-reported data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (NS-CSHCN), we examined prevalence of five functional limitations (learning/ concentration, communication, self-care, gross motor skills, and fine motor skills) by diagnosed heart disease status using chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression. Among CSHCN with heart disease, we examined the associations between severity of each functional limitation and missing ≥11 days of school in the past year, receiving special education services, and interference… More >

Yu Zhu^1*, Yong Chen^1*, Yu Feng², Di Yu¹, Xuming Mo¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 271-281, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12567

Abstract We conducted this meta-analysis to address the open question of a possible association between maternal body mass index (BMI) and congenital heart defects (CHDs) in infants. We conducted a comprehensive computerized search of PubMed, Web of Science, Medline, and Embase databased (January 1980 through August 2017). We assessed the association between maternal BMI and the risk for congenital heart defects in their offspring. Study-specific relative risk estimates were polled according to random-effect or fixed-effect models. From 2567 citations, a total of 13 case-control studies and 4 cohort studies were selected for a meta-analysis, including more than 1 150 000 cases.… More >

Fred H. Rodriguez III^1,2,3,4, Georges Ephrem^1,2, Jennifer F. Gerardin^1,2, Cheryl Raskind-Hood⁵, Carol Hogue⁵, Wendy Book^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.13, No.1, pp. 59-64, 2018, DOI:10.1111/chd.12563

Abstract Objective: Although the ICD-9-CM code 745.5 is widely used to indicate the presence of a secundum atrial septal defect (ASD), it is also used for patent foramen ovale (PFO) which is a normal variant and for “rule-out” congenital heart disease (CHD). The ICD-10-CM code Q21.1 perpetuates this issue. The objective of this study was to assess whether code 745.5 in isolation or in combination with unspecified CHD codes 746.9 or 746.89 miscodes for CHD, and if true CHD positives decrease with age.
Design: Echocardiograms of patients with an ICD-9-CM code of 745.5 in isolation or in combination with unspecified 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 >