Jennifer K. Peterson¹, Yanjun Chen², Danh V. Nguyen³, Shaun P. Setty¹

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.4, pp. 520-532, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12475

Abstract Objective: Despite overall improvements in congenital heart disease outcomes, racial and ethnic disparities have continued. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of race and ethnicity, as well as other risk factors on congenital heart surgery length of stay and in-hospital mortality.
Design: From the 2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids Inpatient Database (KID), we identified 13 130 records with Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery complexity scoreeligible procedures. Multivariate logistic and linear regression modeling with survey weights, stratification and clustering was used to examine the relationships between predictor variables and length of… More >

Jana Rubáčková Popelová, MD1,2 | Markéta Tomková1,3 | Jakub Tomek1,4

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.4, pp. 448-457, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12466

Abstract Objective: The patients after Mustard and Senning corrections of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) are at an increased risk of unexpected death. The aim of this study was to identify markers allowing risk stratification of patients after atrial switch correction of TGA to provide them with optimum care.
Methods and Results: In this study, 87 patients were retrospectively evaluated after atrial switch correction of TGA followed-up between 2005 and 2015. The mortality during the follow-up was 9% (8 cardiac deaths). Markers significantly predictive of death using univariable Cox proportional hazard ratio survival analysis were: N-terminal pro-B-type… More >

Paul Tannous^1,2, Sunil J Ghelani^1,2, Audrey C Marshall^1,2, Diego Porras^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.4, pp. 467-474, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12457

Abstract Objective: Angiographically detectable Thebesian veins (ThVs) are a rare finding sometimes associated with coronary steal and myocardial ischemia in adults, but there are limited data regarding prominent ThVs in the setting of complex congenital heart disease (CHD). This study represents the largest series to date describing the presence and temporal changes of angiographically detectable ThVs in children with CHD.
Methods: This is a single center case series describing the clinical characteristics and coronary anatomy in children with CHD and angiographicall detectable ThVs. After identification of the index case, additional patients were identified in a prospective manner during… More >

Daniel J Penny

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 241-241, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12474

Abstract This article has no abstract. More >

Katherine Smith, Bernard Gros

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 251-260, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12465

Abstract A well-established association exists between acute aortic dissection and pregnancy, particularly in women with Marfan syndrome. However, there is debate regarding appropriate management guidelines. In particular, there are differing opinions regarding when prophylactic aortic root repair should be recommended as well as the efficacy of beta blockers in this clinical scenario. The current study evaluated 10 years of published literature (2005-2015) in the PubMed/Medline database. Fifty articles, describing 72 cases of women who presented with aortic dissection in the antepartum or postpartum period were identified. Comparisons on demographic variables and clinical outcomes between cases of… More >

Ian K. Everitt¹, Jennifer F. Gerardin², Fred H. Rodriguez^2,3, Wendy M. Book²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 242-25, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12463

Abstract The transition and transfer from pediatric to adult care is becoming increasingly important as improvements in the diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease allow patients to live longer. Transition is a complex and continuous process that requires careful planning. Inadequate transition has adverse effects on patients, their families and healthcare delivery systems. Currently, significant gaps exist in patient care as adolescents transfer to adult care and there are little data to drive the informed management of transition and transfer of care in adolescent congenital heart disease patients. Appropriate congenital heart disease care has been… More >

Bahareh Eslami^1,2

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 357-363, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12452

Abstract Objective: The aims of this study were to compare the level of posttraumatic stress disorder between adults with and without congenital heart disease, and to examine the correlates of posttraumatic stress disorder (e.g., sociodemographics).
Design: Cross-sectional.
Setting: Two university-affiliated heart hospitals in Tehran, Iran.
Patients: A sample of 347 adults with congenital heart disease aged 18–64 years (52% women), and 353 adults without congenital heart disease matched by sex and age (±2 years) was recruited. Outcome Measures: The PTSD Scale: Self-report version was used to assess the diagnosis and severity of posttraumatic stress disorder. Hierarchical multivariate logistic regression analyses… More >

Stephanie M. Ford¹, Matthew T. McPheeters², Yves T. Wang³, Pei Ma¹³, Shi Gu³, James Strainic⁴, Christopher Snyder⁴, Andrew M. Rollins³, Michiko Watanabe², Michael W. Jenkins²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 322-331, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12443

Abstract Background: The relationship between changes in endocardial cushion and resultant congenital heart diseases (CHD) has yet to be established. It has been shown that increased regurgitant flow early in embryonic heart development leads to endocardial cushion defects, but it remains unclear how abnormal endocardial cushions during the looping stages might affect the fully septated heart. The goal of this study was to reproducibly alter blood flow in vivo and then quantify the resultant effects on morphology of endocardial cushions in the looping heart and on CHDs in the septated heart.
Methods: Optical pacing was applied to create… More >

Waldemar F. Carlo¹, James F. Cnota², Robert J. Dabal³, Jeffrey B. Anderson²

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 315-321, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12442

Abstract Objective: The National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPC-QIC) was established in 2008 to improve outcomes of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) during the interstage period. They evaluated changes in patient variables and practice variation between early and late eras.
Design: Data including demographic, operative, discharge, and follow-up variables from the first 100 patients (6/2008–1/2010) representing 18 centers were compared with the most recent 100 patients (1/2014–11/2014) from these same centers.
Results: Prenatal diagnosis increased from 69% to 82% (P = .05). There were no differences in gestational age or weight at Norwood. A composite of any preoperative… More >

Paul Cooper¹, Morgan Hindes², Timothy M. Maul^3,4, Stephen C. Cook⁵

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.12, No.3, pp. 309-314, 2017, DOI:10.1111/chd.12441

Abstract Objective: Medical residents are exposed to increasing numbers of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD). While inadequate ACHD knowledge may lead to inappropriate practice, this educational deficit has not been investigated. Our aim was to analyze residents’ attitudes, perceived ability, and knowledge of ACHD medicine.
Design, Methods, Outcome Measures: A single center, multiprogram cross-sectional study was conducted in 2015 using an electronic survey to assess 472 medical residents’ perceived knowledge and self-assessed skills related to ACHD medicine. Demographic data obtained included age, gender, level of training and program type.
Results: The survey was completed by 25% of surveyed… More >