Valvuloplasty of fetal pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and hypoplastic right heart: Mid-term follow-up results

Objective:This study aimed to analyze and evaluate the results of mid-term follow-up after fetal pulmonary valvuloplasty(FPV)in fetuses with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum(PA/IVS).Methods:From August 31,2018,to May 31,2019,seven fetuses with PA/IVS and hypoplastic right heart were included in this study.All underwent echocardiography by the same specialist and were operated on by the same team.Intervention and echocardiography data were collected,and changes in the associated indices noted during follow-up were analyzed.Results:All seven fetuses successfully underwent FPV.The median gestational age at FPV was 27.54 weeks.The average FPV procedural time was 6 min.Persistent bradycardia requiring treatment occurred in 4/7 procedures.Finally,five pregnancies were successfully delivered,and the other two were aborted.Compared to data before fetal cardiac interventions(FCI),tricuspid valve annulus diameter/mitral valve annulus diameter(TV/MV)and right ventricle diameter/left ventricle diameter(RV/LV)of all fetuses had progressively improved.The maximum tricuspid regurgitation velocity decreased from 4.60 m/s to 3.64 m/s.The average follow-up time was 30.40±2.05 months.During the follow-up period,the diameter of the tricuspid valve ring in five children continued to improve,and the development rate of the tricuspid valve was relatively obvious from 6 months to 1 year after birth.However,the development of the right ventricle after birth was relatively slow.It was discovered that there were individual variations in the development of the right ventricle during follow-up.Conclusion:The findings support the potential for the development of the right ventricle and tricuspid valve in fetuses with PA/IVS who underwent FCI.Development of the right ventricle and tricuspid valve does not occur synchronously during pregnancy.The right ventricle develops rapidly in utero,but the development of tricuspid valve is more apparent after birth than in utero.

Ductus Arteriosus Stent Compared with Surgical Shunt for Infants with Ductal-Dependent Pulmonary Blood Flow: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of ductus arteriosus stent(DAS)compared with surgical systemic-pulmonary artery shunt(SPS)in patients with ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow.A literature search was conducted in PubMed,Embase,and the Cochrane Library databases from their inception to December 2020.Two reviewers independently screened the articles,evaluated the quality of the articles,and collected the data.Meta-analyses were conducted using fixed and random effects models.We used the I-square(I2)test to examine heterogeneity and the funnel plot Egger’s test was used to test for publication bias.We analyzed nine studies including 842 patients were included in the present study(DAS:n=295;SPS:n=547).There was a benefit in favor of DAS group for medium-term mortality(RR,0.63;95%CI,[0.40,0.99];P=0.91,I^(2)=0%).DAS group demonstrated a reduced risk for complications compared with SPS(RR,0.46;95%CI,[0.29,0.72];P=0.78,I^(2)=0%).There was an increased risk for unplanned reintervention for DAS(RR,1.77;95%CI,[1.42,2.20];P=0.61,I2=0%).DAS demonstrated shorter mean intensive care unit length of stay(MD,–5.12;95%CI,[–7.33,–2.91];P=0.005,I^(2)=76%).There was also demonstrated higher postprocedure oxygen saturation for SPS over DAS(MD,1.78;95% CI,[0.92,2.64];P=0.46,I2=0%).There was no difference between the two groups in terms of mortality within 30 days,Nakata Index,and hospital length of stay.Conclusions:In terms of initial palliative surgical in the ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow,DAS demonstrated a lower risk of medium-term mortality,lower risk of complications,higher risk of unplanned reintervention,shorter ICU length of stay,and higher postprocedure oxygen saturation compared with SPS.

Transcatheter Closure of Perimembranous Ventricular Septal Defect Using the Amplatzer Duct Occluder II

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy of Amplatzer duct occluder II(ADO II)in the treatment of perimembranous ventricular septal defect(pmVSD)in children.Methods:Between June 2017 and June 2020,13 patients with pmVSD had attempted transcatheter closure using ADO II,seven of patients were used antegrade approach and six of them were used retrograde approach.Results:There were 8 males and 5 females,age from 1 to 7 years,weight from 10.5 to 31.0 kg,and VSD size from 2.0 to 4.0 mm.Procedure was successful in all cases with the outer diameter of the occluders ranging from 4 to 6 mm.No aortic,tricuspid regurgitation or residual shunt was found in the immediate ultrasound assessment.No arrhythmia was observed in the Holter monitoring 3 days after the intervention.Discharge echocardiography indicated complete shunt closure.No evidence of occluder prolapse,malignant arrhythmia,or intensed valve regurgitation was seen on a median follow-up of 18 months(range,6 to 36 months).Conclusions:Based on our experience,ADO II showed good efficacy in the early and middle stages of pediatric pmVSD closures.