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Background: Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a useful non-invasive tool for monitoring infants undergoing cardiac surgery. In this study, we aimed to determine the NIRS values in cyanotic and acyanotic patients who underwent corrective cardiac surgery for congenital heart diseases. Methods: Thirty consecutive infants who were operated on with the diagnosis of ventricular septal defect (n=15) and tetralogy of Fallot (n=15) were evaluated retrospectively. A definitive repair of the underlying cardiac pathology was achieved in all cases. A total of six measurements of cerebral and renal NIRS were performed at different stages of the perioperative period. The laboratory data, mean urine output and serum lactate levels were evaluated along with NIRS values in each group. Results: The NIRS values differ in both groups, even after the corrective surgical procedure is performed. The recovery of renal NIRS values is delayed in the cyanotic patients. Conclusion: Even though definitive surgical repair is performed in cyanotic infants, recovery of the renal vasculature may be delayed by up to two days, which is suggestive of a vulnerable period for renal dysfunction.

Background We present the early results of looped epicardial cardioverter defibrillator coil implantation on the anterior surface of right ventricular outflow tract in infants and children. Methods Patients with a surgical history of an epicardial implantable cardioverter defibrillator system between 2013 and 2014 were included in the study. Patient age, gender, body weight, indications for a cardioverter defibrillator system implantation, defibrillation threshold values, and defibrillation therapies were retrospectively evaluated. Results There were eight patients with a mean age of 4.4 ± 2.9 years and a mean body weight of 19.5 ± 11.7 kg. Five of the patients had been diagnosed with long QT syndrome, one patient had been diagnosed with genetic channelopathy and noncompaction of the left ventricle, and two patients had been diagnosed with univentricle physiology. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator system was composed of pace-sense leads, an abdominal active can, and a defibrillation coil placed below the pulmonary valve annulus on the anterior surface of the heart. The mean defibrillation threshold was 6.6 ± 2.3 joules. There were four appropriate therapies in two patients in a mean follow-up of 9 ± 6.5 months. Conclusion The significantly low defibrillation thresholds with the defibrillation coils located below the pulmonary valve annulus are encouraging. However, a larger patient series will be necessary to evaluate the safety and reliability of this technique. doi: 10.1111/jocs.12525 (J Card Surg 2015;30:376–380)

The objective of this clinical study is to determine whether correlation exists among cerebral and renal near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measurements, renal Doppler ultrasonography parameters (resistive index, peak systolic velocity), and early postoperative clinical outcomes following cardiac surgery in neonates and infants. Thirty-seven patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart defects with an age of less than 3 months, all of whom were in the high-risk group according to Aristotle Basic Complexity risk stratification score, were enrolled in our study. Cerebral, renal NIRS values and renal Doppler ultrasonography measurements were recorded for each patient at the 4th postoperative hour. The renal resistive indices were calculated for each case, and the patients were divided into two groups according to renal resistive index (RI) values. Group I included the patients with a RI of greater than 0.8 (n = 25) and Group II included the patients with a RI of less than 0.8 (n = 12). The postoperative outcome parameters were compared in between two groups. Group I (RI >0.8) had lower postoperative mean urine output than Group II (RI

Low birthweight (LBW) continues to be a high-risk factor in surgery for congenital heart disease. This risk is particularly very high in very low birthweight infants under 1500g and extremely LBW infants under 1000g. From January 2005 to December 2008, 33 consecutive LBW neonates underwent cardiac surgery in our clinic in keeping with the criteria for choice of surgery. Their weight range was between 800 and 1900g. Nine of them were under 1000g. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was used in 17 patients (39.5%) and pulsatile perfusion mode was applied to patients in the CPB group. The same surgical team operated to achieve palliation (8 patients, 24.2%) or full repair (25 patients, 75.8%). Median gestational age was 36 weeks with 12 (36.4%) premature babies (≤37 weeks). Median age at operation was 5 days. Pathologies were single ventricle (n=3), pulmonary atresia-ventricular septal defect (n=3), aortic coarctation (n=10), aorticopulmonary window and interrupted aortic arch combination (n=6), patent arterial duct (n=11), critical aortic stenosis (n=8), and tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia (n=2). One infant had VATER syndrome. Selective cerebral perfusion technique was used in complex arch pathologies for cerebral protection. Median follow-up was 14 months. There were four early postoperative deaths. None of the cases showed a need for early reoperation. The acceptable early- and midterm mortality rates in this group suggest that these operations can be successfully performed. There is a need for further multicenter studies to evaluate these high-risk groups.

Peritoneal dialysis after complex congenital cardiac surgery was introduced to a group of neonates and infants (n = 756; age, 0 to 1 year) between May 1993 and December 2005. Indications of peritoneal dialysis were determined as well as methods, prolonged dialysis, and its outcomes. Demographic characteristics, preoperative risk factors, intraoperative variables, and postoperative complications were compared in 756 cases with ages below 1 year. All cases underwent ultrafiltration during the perioperative stage. One hundred eighty-six cases (24.6% of total) required peritoneal dialysis. The cardiac pathology was transposition of great arteries in 133 cases, tetralogy of Fallot in 37, aorticopulmonary window associated with interrupted aortic arch in 4 and total anomalous pulmonary venous return in 5, and other complex pathology in 7 cases. Prolonged peritoneal dialysis was usually required in infants with low weight, with episodes of pulmonary hypertensive crisis (p < 0.05), and with preoperative renal dysfunction. No major complication was observed related to the peritoneal dialysis catheter. Of 186 patients, 23 (12.3%) had acute renal failure, and 4 of them died (2.15% of all patients underwent operation, 17.3% of those with acute renal failure). It has been demonstrated that the combination of peritoneal dialysis with perioperative ultrafiltration application was effective in providing the required postoperative negative fluid balance in especially complex congenital heart cases and affected survival positively.

We present the early results of looped epicardial cardioverter defibrillator coil implantation on the anterior surface of right ventricular outflow tract in infants and children.Patients with a surgical history of an epicardial implantable cardioverter defibrillator system between 2013 and 2014 were included in the study. Patient age, gender, body weight, indications for a cardioverter defibrillator system implantation, defibrillation threshold values, and defibrillation therapies were retrospectively evaluated.There were eight patients with a mean age of 4.4 ± 2.9 years and a mean body weight of 19.5 ± 11.7 kg. Five of the patients had been diagnosed with long QT syndrome, one patient had been diagnosed with genetic channelopathy and noncompaction of the left ventricle, and two patients had been diagnosed with univentricle physiology. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator system was composed of pace-sense leads, an abdominal active can, and a defibrillation coil placed below the pulmonary valve annulus on the anterior surface of the heart. The mean defibrillation threshold was 6.6 ± 2.3 joules. There were four appropriate therapies in two patients in a mean follow-up of 9 ± 6.5 months.The significantly low defibrillation thresholds with the defibrillation coils located below the pulmonary valve annulus are encouraging. However, a larger patient series will be necessary to evaluate the safety and reliability of this technique.

The objective of this clinical study is to determine whether correlation exists among cerebral and renal near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measurements, renal Doppler ultrasonography parameters (resistive index, peak systolic velocity), and early postoperative clinical outcomes following cardiac surgery in neonates and infants. Thirty-seven patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart defects with an age of less than 3 months, all of whom were in the high-risk group according to Aristotle Basic Complexity risk stratification score, were enrolled in our study. Cerebral, renal NIRS values and renal Doppler ultrasonography measurements were recorded for each patient at the 4th postoperative hour. The renal resistive indices were calculated for each case, and the patients were divided into two groups according to renal resistive index (RI) values. Group I included the patients with a RI of greater than 0.8 (n = 25) and Group II included the patients with a RI of less than 0.8 (n = 12). The postoperative outcome parameters were compared in between two groups. Group I (RI0.8) had lower postoperative mean urine output than Group II (RI0.8) (P = 0.041). The lactate levels were significantly higher in Group I (P = 0.049), as well. The postoperative intensive care unit and hospital stay of Group I was significantly higher than Group II (P = 0.048). Both cerebral and renal NIRS values and the assessment of renal RI as well as peak systolic values can be used in order to predict the early clinical outcome in cardiac surgery patients in early infantile and neonatal period.

WOS: 000351596400011 PubMed ID: 24965913 Although the poly-methylpentene (PMP) oxygenators have significant advantages in ECMO implementation, their usage may be limited in some situations, which may be related to economic constraints. In this report, we aimed to emphasize our cost-effective usage of a membrane oxygenator at the ECMO setup. We implemented ECMO with eight Capiox((R)) FX05 or Baby RX05 hollow-fiber membrane oxygenators in five neonatal patients. The average ECMO duration was 121 hours (ranging from 41 to 272 hours). Following the termination of the ECMO, the system was broken down into its components for macroscopic analysis. Neither gross blood clots nor plasma leakage were observed in any of the components. The integration of a centrifugal pump and a separate hollow-fiber oxygenator may provide a cost-effective ECMO implementation setup with no adverse effects which may be an encouraging alternative for the low cost usage of ECMO in neonates.

WOS: 000350199500027 PubMed ID: 25605825 We read with great interest the article by Gaudino et al. [1]. They have performed coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with both internal thoracic arteries (ITA) in a 68-year old patient with a surgical history of aortic coarctation repair. However, there Figure 2: Postoperative angiographic control showing normal functioning left (A) and right (B) ITA grafts. CASE REPORT M. Gaudino et al. / Interactive CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery 279 Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/icvts/article-abstract/20/2/279/734665 by guest on 09 April 2020 are some issues we would like to discuss regarding the surgical strategy of the graft selection in this patient. The patient was reported to be hypertensive, both at admission and during the postoperative period. The authors performed a histopathological evaluation of the discarded ITA segments and markedly thickened endothelium was encountered. We wondered how they had decided that the discarded distal segment of the ITA with markedly thickened endothelium guaranteed an intact proximal arterial wall. The atherosclerotic involvement of the ITA may be segmental, hence distal ITA sampling may not accurately predict the degree of atherosclerosis at the proximal part of the graft [2]. Moreover, the same authors had published a review on the use of ITAs in patients with aortic coarctation recently [3]. In that paper, they reviewed 13 reports related to this topic and only one of them included an angiographic control at the long-term follow-up. The authors concluded that, ’a careful evaluation of the conduit is obviously paramount in the context that preoperative transthoracic Doppler ultrasound and selective LITA and RITA catheterization at the time of cardiac catheterization will provide with optimal preoperative planning’.

Low birthweight (LBW) continues to be a high-risk factor in surgery for congenital heart disease. This risk is particularly very high in very low birthweight infants under 1500g and extremely LBW infants under 1000g. From January 2005 to December 2008, 33 consecutive LBW neonates underwent cardiac surgery in our clinic in keeping with the criteria for choice of surgery. Their weight range was between 800 and 1900g. Nine of them were under 1000g. Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was used in 17 patients (39.5%) and pulsatile perfusion mode was applied to patients in the CPB group. The same surgical team operated to achieve palliation (8 patients, 24.2%) or full repair (25 patients, 75.8%). Median gestational age was 36 weeks with 12 (36.4%) premature babies (≤37 weeks). Median age at operation was 5 days. Pathologies were single ventricle (n=3), pulmonary atresia-ventricular septal defect (n=3), aortic coarctation (n=10), aorticopulmonary window and interrupted aortic arch combination (n=6), patent arterial duct (n=11), critical aortic stenosis (n=8), and tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia (n=2). One infant had VATER syndrome. Selective cerebral perfusion technique was used in complex arch pathologies for cerebral protection. Median follow-up was 14 months. There were four early postoperative deaths. None of the cases showed a need for early reoperation. The acceptable early- and midterm mortality rates in this group suggest that these operations can be successfully performed. There is a need for further multicenter studies to evaluate these high-risk groups.

Atrial septal defect (ASD) closure may be complicated with residual right to left shunt leading to cyanosis. In this case, the patient was operated for low venosus type ASD 30 years ago. He suffered from exertional dyspnea and cyanosis (oxygen saturation: 85%) for years and he still did not accept any reintervention. The probable mechanisms for the residual shunt are ineffective suture placement at the ostium of inferior venae cavae or a tear in the patch after surgical procedure.