Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

BMC Vet Res 2020 Jun 30;16(1):224. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Section of Herd Health and Animal Husbandry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.

Background: Congenital heart diseases are occasionally encountered in the bovine species. Ventricular septal defects (VSD) and atrial septal defects (ASD) are reported to be the most common; however, a vast collection have been reported [1, 2]. Congenital heart diseases is thought to represent less than 3% of all congenital abnormalities in calves [3]. Read More

Can J Cardiol 2020 Jun 22. Epub 2020 Jun 22.

Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: Reference values for cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI) in children and young adults are scarce. This leads to risk stratification of patients with congenital heart diseases to be based on volumes indexed to body surface area (BSA). We aimed to produce cMRI Z score equations for ventricular volumes in children and young adults and test whether indexing to BSA resulted in an incorrect assessment of ventricular dilatation according to sex, body composition and growth. Read More

J Cardiothorac Surg 2020 Jun 23;15(1):151. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Department of Thoracic Surgery, Peking University People's Hospital, No. 11 Xizhimen South Street, Beijing, 100044, China.

Background: The incidence of the iatrogenic foreign body retained after surgery is extremely low. Iatrogenic foreign body retained is surrounded by normal tissue, which responds to foreign matter to form inflammatory pseudotumors. Surgical sponge or swap is the most common type of foreign body. Read More

Diagn Interv Imaging 2020 Jun 5. Epub 2020 Jun 5.

Blalock Taussig Thomas Heart Center, The Johns Hopkins Hospital and School of Medicine, 1800 Orleans St, 21287 Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address:

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare ventricular vascular coupling ratio (VVCR) between patients with repaired standard tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and those with repaired TOF-pulmonary atresia (TOF-PA) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).

Materials And Methods: Patients with repaired TOF aged>6 years were prospectively enrolled for same day CMR, echocardiography, and exercise stress test following a standardized protocol. Sanz's method was used to calculate VVCR as right ventricle (RV) end-systolic volume/pulmonary artery stroke volume. Read More

Childs Nerv Syst 2020 Jun 6. Epub 2020 Jun 6.

Department of Neurosurgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

Intracranial abscess in the pediatric population is an overall rare occurrence-4 in a million. The most common predisposing factor is underlying cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD), which is associated with ~ 30% of all cases. We present an unusual case of cerebral abscess in a 17-month-old female with partially treated Tetralogy of Fallot and fever of unknown origin without associated neurologic symptoms. Read More

Quant Imaging Med Surg 2020 May;10(5):921-933

Diagnostic Imaging Center, Shanghai Children's Medical Center Affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200127, China.

Background: This study aimed to assess the severity of helix and vortex flow in pulmonary artery hemodynamic using 4-dimensional flow cardiac magnetic resonance (4D flow CMR) in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) and healthy child volunteers and to explore the relationship between pulmonary hemodynamic changes and right heart function.

Methods: CMR studies were performed in 25 rTOF patients (15 M/10 F; 8.44±4. Read More

Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 Jun;13(6):e010273

Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Sciences, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy (R.L., E.P., F.G., A.M.L., M.G., F.C., M.M.).

Proc SPIE Int Soc Opt Eng 2020 Feb 28;11317. Epub 2020 Feb 28.

University of Texas at Dallas, Department of Bioengineering, Richardson, TX, USA.

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is considered the standard imaging modality for volumetric analysis of the right ventricle (RV), an especially important practice in the evaluation of heart structure and function in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). In clinical practice, however, this requires time-consuming manual delineation of the RV endocardium in multiple 2-dimensional (2D) slices at multiple phases of the cardiac cycle. In this work, we employed a U-Net based 2D convolutional neural network (CNN) classifier in the fully automatic segmentation of the RV blood pool. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 May 30. Epub 2020 May 30.

Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Purpose Substantial differences between sexes exist with respect to cardiovascular diseases, including congenital heart disease. Nevertheless, clinical decisions in the long-term follow-up of patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) are currently based on unisex thresholds for cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) measurements. This study aimed to assess whether sex differences exist in cardiac adaptation to hemodynamic loading conditions in patients with rTOF. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 May 27. Epub 2020 May 27.

Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Massa, Italy.

The hemodynamic impact of residual pulmonary regurgitation (PR) in repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) has been well demonstrated. However, markers driving the decision making process to indicate the ideal timing of pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) are still uncertain. Furthermore, very few studies have included the right atrium (RA) dilatation as a preoperative risk factor for post-PVR clinical adverse outcome. Read More

CJC Open 2020 May 24;2(3):129-134. Epub 2020 Feb 24.

Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.

Background: Inferior vena cava (IVC) size and collapsibility provide a noninvasive estimate of right heart filling pressures, an important determinant of right heart hemodynamic performance that is not measured by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMRI). We hypothesized that compared with CMRI risk model alone, a combined CMRI-IVC risk model will have better correlation with disease severity and peak oxygen consumption in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF).

Methods: We performed a retrospective review of patients with TOF with moderate/severe pulmonary regurgitation who underwent CMRI and echocardiography. Read More

Semin Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 2020 May 26:1089253220920480. Epub 2020 May 26.

Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, WA, USA.

Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) with pulmonary atresia (ToF-PA) is a complex congenital heart defect at the extreme end of the spectrum of ToF, with no antegrade flow into the pulmonary arteries. Patients differ with regard to the sources of pulmonary blood flow. In the milder spectrum of disease, there are confluent branch pulmonary arteries fed by ductus arteriosus. Read More

J Appl Physiol (1985) 2020 Jun 21;128(6):1677-1683. Epub 2020 May 21.

Division of Cardiology, The Labatt Family Heart Centre, The Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Canada.

Right ventricular (RV) function impacts clinical outcomes after surgical repair of Tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). However, assessment of RV function remains difficult. We investigated the RV myocardial systolic-to-diastolic (S/D) duration ratio derived from strain imaging time intervals to characterize RV myocardial performance, exploring its relation with peak oxygen consumption during exercise (V̇o) and cardiac magnetic resonance-derived RV dilation and function in rTOF. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 May 17. Epub 2020 May 17.

Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, School of Medicine, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, People's Republic of China.

The aim of this study was to investigate the image quality and radiation dose of different scanning protocols in dual-source CT cardiothoracic angiography for children with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Seventy-five consecutive children with known or suspected TOF were enrolled to undergo prospective ECG-triggering sequential dual-source CT (DSCT) cardiothoracic angiography. According to the scanning protocols, these patients were randomly divided into 3 groups: fixed delay time (FDT, n = 25, group A), automatic bolus-tracking (ABT, n = 25, group B) and manual bolus-tracking (MBT, n = 25, group C). Read More

Asian Pac J Allergy Immunol 2020 May 17. Epub 2020 May 17.

Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Background: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome is one of the most prevalent microdeletion syndromes in humans. The syndrome is characterized by extensive phenotypic variability. Read More

Surg Technol Int 2020 May;36:217-223

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

Severe tricuspid regurgitation (TR) is associated with significant mortality and morbidities. Currently, surgical tricuspid repair with annuloplasty is the gold standard treatment. However, the prohibitive risks of open surgery and increasing evidence that severe TR should be intervened on early has led to an outburst in the development and evolution of transcatheter tricuspid valve interventions (TTVI). Read More

J Med Invest 2020 ;67(1.2):145-150

Department of Pediatrics, Tokushima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tokushima Japan.

Assessment of right ventricular (RV) function is quite important in patients with surgically corrected tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). However, quantitative assessment of RV function remains challenging, mainly because of the complex RV geometry. This prospective study investigated isovolumic acceleration (IVA), a parameter of myocardial systolic function not influenced by either preload or afterload, using tissue Doppler imaging. Read More

Pediatr Cardiol 2020 Jun 4;41(5):1042-1050. Epub 2020 May 4.

Division of Paediatric Cardiology, Department of Paediatrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA, Leiden, The Netherlands.

Surgical repair of Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) is usually performed in the first months of life with low early postoperative mortality. During long-term follow-up, however, both right (RV) and left ventricular (LV) performances may deteriorate. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and speckle tracking echocardiography (ST) can unmask a diminished RV and LV performance. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 Apr 23. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou, 510100, China.

To review the imaging characteristics of adult-type anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) and evaluate the post-operative echocardiographic features. The transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) records and invasive coronary angiography (ICA), coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) or operative findings of thirty adult patients with final diagnosis of ALCAPA were reviewed at our center. The diagnostic reliability of TTE was determined by comparing its results with that of ICA/CTA, and the echocardiographic features of the patients during early visit and post-operative follow-up were summarized. Read More

JACC Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 Apr 15. Epub 2020 Apr 15.

Prenat Diagn 2020 Jun 17;40(7):892-904. Epub 2020 May 17.

Division of Obstetric Ultrasonography, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking University People's Hospital, Beijing, P.R. China.

Objectives: Establish a fetal heart anatomical cross-sectional database that correlates with screening transverse ultrasound images suggested by international professional organizations to detect congenital heart defects.

Methods: Fetuses with suspected congenital heart defects identified using the following cardiac image sequences obtained from transverse slices beginning from the upper abdomen and ending in the upper thorax were the subjects of this study: (1) four-chamber view, (2) left ventricular outflow tract view, (3) three-vessel right ventricular outflow tract view, and (4) the three-vessel tracheal view. A database of digital two-dimensional images of the transverse sweep was created for fetuses with confirmed congenital heart defects. Read More

Ann Vasc Surg 2020 Apr 9. Epub 2020 Apr 9.

Department of Cardiology and Institute of Clinical Medicine, Renmin Hospital, Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, China. Electronic address:

Pulmonary artery dissection is a rare and extremely dangerous disease with high mortality rates. It is one of the most serious complications of chronic pulmonary hypertension. It may be related to chronic pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary artery dilatation. Read More

Radiol Clin North Am 2020 May 26;58(3):503-516. Epub 2020 Feb 26.

Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University Hospital, 1364 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30307, USA. Electronic address:

Because of a recent increase in survival rates and life expectancy of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), radiologists are facing new challenges when imaging the peculiar anatomy of individuals with repaired CHD. Cardiac computed tomography and magnetic resonance are paramount noninvasive imaging tools that are useful in assessing patients with repaired CHD, and both techniques are increasingly performed in centers where CHD is not the main specialization. This review provides general radiologists with insight into the main issues of imaging patients with repaired CHD, and the most common findings and complications of each individual pathology and its repair. Read More

Egypt Heart J 2020 Apr 3;72(1):17. Epub 2020 Apr 3.

Aswan Heart Centre (Magdi Yacoub Foundation), Aswan, Egypt.

Background: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) accounts for 10% of all CHD. It classically consists of ventricular septal defect (VSD), aortic overriding, right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) obstruction, and RV hypertrophy. There are many anatomic variants, associated intracardiac and extracardiac anomalies that must be taken into consideration when imaging and planning the surgical procedure needed. Read More

J Radiol Case Rep 2019 Sep 30;13(9):28-35. Epub 2019 Sep 30.

Department of Radiology, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, Ca, USA.

Persistent primitive hypoglossal artery is a carotid-vertebrobasilar anastomosis, which commonly arises from the internal carotid artery at the level of the C (cervical) 1-3 vertebrae. We describe a unique case of a female infant patient with this anomaly that has an unusually low origin from the distal common carotid artery just below the bifurcation at the level of roughly C5 and supplies the entire vertebrobasilar system. Additional cardiovascular anatomical variations were present: Tetralogy of Fallot and a right-sided aortic arch with mirror image branching. Read More

Heart 2020 Jul 11;106(13):1007-1014. Epub 2020 Mar 11.

Department of Cardiology III - Adult Congenital and Valvular Heart Disease, University Hospital Muenster, Muenster, Germany.

Objective: To assess the utility of machine learning algorithms for automatically estimating prognosis in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods: We included 372 patients with ToF who had undergone CMR imaging as part of a nationwide prospective study. Cine loops were retrieved and subjected to automatic deep learning (DL)-based image analysis, trained on independent, local CMR data, to derive measures of cardiac dimensions and function. Read More

Pediatr Cardiol 2020 Jun 24;41(5):862-868. Epub 2020 Feb 24.

Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology, German Heart Center, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most common cause of late mortality in tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Pulmonary regurgitation (PR) was previously found to be the most common hemodynamic abnormality associated with ventricular arrhythmias (VA), but cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)-based studies did not show this association. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk factors for VA in TOF using CMR. Read More

J Card Surg 2020 Apr 24;35(4):831-839. Epub 2020 Feb 24.

Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.

Objective: We aim to evaluate the midterm effect of chronic apical right ventricular (RV) pacing on right and left ventricular (LV) function using different modalities of echocardiography including conventional echocardiography, tissue Doppler imaging and two-dimension speckle tracking echocardiography.

Methods: This case-control study enrolled 49 patients divided into two groups: a paced group and a nonpaced group. The paced group included 23 patients that underwent tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair and required permanent pacemaker insertion for postoperative complete heart block. Read More

Pol J Radiol 2019 4;84:e511-e516. Epub 2019 Dec 4.

Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, India.

Purpose: To evaluate various types of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction associated with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) with emphasis on the abnormality of pulmonary arterial system and other associated cardiovascular anomalies using computed tomography (CT) angiography.

Material And Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 184 consecutive previously diagnosed TOF patients who underwent CT angiography in our department.

Results: Infundibular with pulmonary valvular stenosis was the most common type of stenosis (47. Read More

Acta Cardiol 2020 Feb 20:1-8. Epub 2020 Feb 20.

Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Dr Behcet Uz Children's Hospital, Medical Faculty, University of Health Sciences, Izmir, Turkey.

We aimed to compare the findings of a segmental speckle-tracking strain of right ventricle with those of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in this setting. In 26 patients with operated tetralogy of Fallot (mean age, 15.35 ± 2. Read More

J Thorac Imaging 2020 May;35(3):153-166

Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Tetrallogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most frequent form of cyanotic congenital heart disease. Despite advances in surgical and medical treatment, mortality remains high. Residual dysfunction of the pulmonary valve (PV) after correction of right ventricular outflow tract obstruction is an important cause of morbidity, leading to irreversible right ventricular dysfunction, arrhythmias, heart failure and occasionally, death. Read More

Pediatr Neurosurg 2020 18;55(1):42-45. Epub 2020 Feb 18.

Department of Neurosurgery, Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York, USA,

Cardiac defects in neonates are often associated with neurological or neuroanatomical anomalies. We present a patient who developed macrocephaly secondary to superior vena cava syndrome, resultant from repair of her congenital tetralogy of Fallot. She was managed conservatively with serial imaging and close observation from the neurosurgical aspect, and her head growth stabilized without requiring ventriculoperitoneal shunting after stent placement in her superior vena cava. Read More

Eur J Cardiothorac Surg 2020 Feb 11. Epub 2020 Feb 11.

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Sejong General Hospital, Bucheon, Republic of Korea.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate long-term outcomes of pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) in patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and to identify the factors associated with adverse clinical events (ACEs).

Methods: A total of 190 patients who underwent PVR between 1998 and 2015 after repair of TOF were retrospectively analysed. ACE was defined as all-cause death, heart transplantation or new-onset sustained arrhythmia. Read More

Am J Cardiol 2020 03 28;125(6):970-976. Epub 2019 Dec 28.

Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

In repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF), pulmonary insufficiency results in varying degrees of right ventricle (RV) dilation. A subset of patients is diagnosed at initial cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) with a massively dilated RV, far beyond pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) criteria, which is unlikely to return to normal size after PVR. This study aimed to identify risk factors for massive RV dilation at initial CMR. Read More

Cardiol Rev 2020 Jan 2. Epub 2020 Jan 2.

From the Divisions of Cardiology, the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Early complete repair of Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) prior to 1 year of age has been demonstrated to be safe and has survival benefits over late repair. The age at repair of ToF affects long-term outcomes. This may largely be related to preserved, or comparatively better, myocardial health. Read More

Congenit Heart Dis 2019 Nov;14(6):1149-1156

Section of Pediatric Cardiology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California.

Introduction: The right ventricular infundibular sparing approach (RVIS) to the repair of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) avoids a full-thickness ventricular incision, typically utilized in the transinfundibular (TI) method.

Methods: We performed a retrospective, age-matched cohort study of patients who underwent RVIS at Texas Children's Hospital or TI at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Nebraska and subsequently underwent cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR). We compared right ventricular end-diastolic and systolic volumes indexed to body surface area (RVEDVi and RVESVi) and right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) as primary endpoints. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 Apr 6;36(4):691-700. Epub 2020 Jan 6.

Section of Congenital Heart Surgery, Heart Institute, Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.

Aortopathy is a recognized comorbidity of Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Aortic flow in children with repaired TOF is abnormal despite normal aortic valve anatomy and early surgical repair that results in aortic size normalization. The purpose of this study was to investigate the flow hemodynamics inside the left ventricle (LV) of children with repaired TOF using 4D-Flow MRI derived vorticity. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 Apr 1;36(4):595-604. Epub 2020 Jan 1.

Echocardiography Laboratory, National Institute of Cardiology of Mexico, Ignacio Chávez, Juan Badiano 1, Seccion XVI, Tlalpan, Mexico City, Mexico.

To investigate the role of right ventricular free wall strain (RVFWSL) to predict low functional capacity in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF). We prospectively enrolled 33 patients with rTOF with moderate to severe PR who underwent rest and peak exercise echocardiography on a semisupine cycloergometer. Conventional function and strain imaging parameters of both ventricles were measured. Read More

Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2020 Apr 1;36(4):657-669. Epub 2020 Jan 1.

Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.

Lengthy exams and breath-holding limit the use of pediatric cardiac MRI (CMR). 3D time-resolved flow MRI (4DF) is a free-breathing, single-sequence exam that obtains magnitude (anatomic) and phase contrast (PC) data. We compare the accuracy of gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced 4DF on a 1. Read More

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2020 02 30;318(2):H345-H353. Epub 2019 Dec 30.

Clinical Physiology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Timing and indication for pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) in patients with repaired Tetralogy of Fallot (rToF) and pulmonary regurgitation (PR) are uncertain. To improve understanding of pumping mechanics, we investigated atrioventricular coupling before and after surgical PVR. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance was performed in patients ( = 12) with rToF and PR > 35% before and after PVR and in healthy controls ( = 15). Read More

Heart Fail Rev 2020 Jul;25(4):569-581

Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, USA.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is common in patients with adult congenital heart disease. Many of the most common congenital defects have a high prevalence of HFrEF, including left-sided obstructive lesions (aortic stenosis, coarctation of the aorta, Shone complex), tetralogy of Fallot, Ebstein anomaly, lesions in which there is a systemic right ventricle, and lesions palliated with a Fontan circulation. However, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is also prevalent in all these lesions. Read More

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2020 07 15;160(1):218-223.e1. Epub 2019 Nov 15.

Department of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Mass.

Objectives: The Residual Lesion Score (RLS) was developed as a novel tool for assessing residual lesions after congenital heart operations based on widely available clinical and echocardiographic characteristics. The RLS ranks postoperative findings as follows: Class 1 (no/trivial residua), Class 2 (minor residua), or Class 3 (major residua or reintervention before discharge for residua). The multicenter prospective RLS study aims to analyze the influence of residual lesions on outcomes in common congenital cardiac operations. Read More

Pediatr Cardiol 2020 Feb 19;41(2):382-388. Epub 2019 Dec 19.

Pediatric Cardiology and Congenital Heart Disease, German Heart Center Munich, Technical University of Munich, Lazarettstrasse 36, 80636, Munich, Germany.

Percutaneous pulmonary valve replacement (PPVI) in native or patched right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) has proven to be feasible. The procedure is highly dependent on the size of the RVOT. Several methods exist to evaluate the size of the RVOT by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Read More

Heart 2020 Mar 19;106(6):421-426. Epub 2019 Dec 19.

Pediatric Cardiology, Wilhelmina Children's Hospital University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common form of congenital defects, with an incidence of 8 per 1000 births. Due to major advances in diagnostics, perioperative care and surgical techniques, the survival rate of patients with CHD has improved dramatically. Conversely, although 70%-95% of infants with CHD survive into adulthood, the rate of long-term morbidity, which often requires (repeat) intervention, has increased. Read More

Pediatr Cardiol 2020 Feb 18;41(2):389-397. Epub 2019 Dec 18.

Department of Diagnostic Imaging & Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-8666, Japan.

We propose a novel method to quantify pulsatile liver deformation using the feature tracking method of cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and investigate its association with liver dysfunction in long-term postoperative patients after Fontan and intracardiac repair for the tetralogy of Fallot (TOF). Standard cine MRI which was previously performed for cardiac evaluation of 85 patients who underwent Fontan operation (mean age, 22.9 years), 43 patients with TOF (mean age, 34. Read More

J Am Heart Assoc 2019 12 16;8(24):e013654. Epub 2019 Dec 16.

Bristol Heart Institute University Hospitals Bristol National Health Service Foundation Trust Bristol United Kingdom.

Background Tetralogy of Fallot repair results in late occurrence of pulmonary regurgitation, which requires pulmonary valve replacement in a large proportion of patients. Both homografts and bioprostheses are used for pulmonary valve replacement as uncertainty remains on which prosthesis should be considered superior. We performed a long-term imaging and clinical comparison between these 2 strategies. Read More

J Am Heart Assoc 2019 12 10;8(24):e014490. Epub 2019 Dec 10.

Department of Biomedical Engineering Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta GA.

Background Tetralogy of Fallot with major aortopulmonary collateral arteries is a heterogeneous form of pulmonary artery (PA) stenosis that requires multiple forms of intervention. We present a patient-specific in vitro platform capable of sustained flow that can be used to train proceduralists and surgical teams in current interventions, as well as in developing novel therapeutic approaches to treat various vascular anomalies. Our objective is to develop an in vitro model of PA stenosis based on patient data that can be used as an in vitro phantom to model cardiovascular disease and explore potential interventions. Read More

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2020 05 16;159(5):1936-1940. Epub 2019 Oct 16.

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.

Objectives: Interventricular septal hematoma (IVSH) is a rare complication, which may result from ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair. IVSH can result in conduction and/or hemodynamic abnormalities related to impaired ventricular filling or outflow tract obstruction. We report the novel use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for management. Read More

BMJ Case Rep 2019 Dec 2;12(12). Epub 2019 Dec 2.

Anaesthesia, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common form of cyanotic congenital heart disease. The survival of patients with uncorrected TOF till the fourth decade of life is rare (around 3%). Pregnancy in a patient with uncorrected TOF requires a multidisciplinary approach. Read More

BMC Cardiovasc Disord 2019 12 2;19(1):277. Epub 2019 Dec 2.

School of Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 227 South Chongqing Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai, 200025, China.

Background: Evidences regarding the associations between maternal upper respiratory tract infection/influenza during pregnancy and the risk of congenital heart disease (CHD) is still controversial. This study was specifically designed to examine the associations by a case-control study and a meta-analysis of the published evidences and our finding.

Methods: A hospital-based case-control study involving 262 children with simple CHD and 262 children with complex CHD, along with 262 control children, was conducted through June, 2016 to December, 2017. Read More