Right aortic coarctation and ventricular septal defect: an unusual cause of tracheal compression in infancy.

OBJECTIVE: Acyanotic congenital heart diseases may occasionally present with tracheobronchial obstruction. Increased pulmonary blood flow against a high-resistance pulmonary bed may create significant pulmonary artery dilation. METHODS: We report an unusual case of ventricular septal defect and right aortic arch coarctation, complicated with distal tracheal compression secondary to a pincer effect created by a right aortic arch and a massively dilated pulmonary artery. RESULTS: High index of suspicion is required to anticipate tracheobronchial compression in acyanotic congenital heart diseases. CONCLUSION: Fiberoptic bronchoscopy is an invaluable tool to assess for tracheal compression relief following surgical repair and to identify tracheomalacia prior to extubation.

Ketorolac after congenital heart surgery: does it increase the risk of significant bleeding complications?

BACKGROUND: The routine use of ketorolac after congenital heart surgery in infants and children is limited by concerns for postoperative bleeding complications. The object of this study was to determine if the use of ketorolac is associated with an increased risk of significant postoperative bleeding after congenital heart surgery in infants and children. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was performed. The exposure of interest was postoperative use of ketorolac after congenital heart surgery in infants and children. The outcome measured was postoperative bleeding requiring surgical exploration. The patients who received ketorolac were compared with an age- and diagnosis-matched comparison group who did not receive ketorolac. RESULTS: Records of 842 infants and children who underwent congenital heart surgery between July 2001 and October 2002 were reviewed. 94 (11.1%) patients were treated with ketorolac postoperatively. The comparison group consisted of 94 matched subjects selected from the patients that did not receive ketorolac. The mean age of patient in the ketorolac group was 8.5 (+/-6.1) years. No (0%) patients in the ketorolac group and four (4.2%) patients in the nonketorolac group developed postoperative bleeding requiring surgical exploration. The relative risk for postoperative bleeding that required surgical exploration in the ketorolac group compared with the nonketorolac group was 0.2 (95% CI 0.02-1.67). CONCLUSIONS: The use of ketorolac after congenital heart surgery in infants and children does not significantly increase the risk of bleeding complications requiring surgical exploration.

Prospective randomized trial of ketorolac after congenital heart surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Ketorolac is a potent nonsteroidal analgesic agent used to treat postoperative pain. It produces excellent analgesia without the sedating side effects of opioid analgesics. Routine use of ketorolac after cardiac surgery is limited by concerns of bleeding complications. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk of bleeding complications of ketorolac for treatment of pain after congenital heart surgery in infants and children. DESIGN: Prospective randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Pediatric cardiac intensive care unit in tertiary teaching hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Seventy infants and children, median age 10 months (range 2.5-174), who underwent congenital heart surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass were randomized in the trial. INTERVENTION: Pain control was performed with ketorolac and opioid analgesics in one arm of the study and opioid analgesics alone in the other arm. OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome evaluated was bleeding complications measured by chest-tube drainage and wound and gastrointestinal bleeding. RESULTS: Thirty-five patients were randomized to each treatment arm. In the ketorolac group, the median chest-tube drainage was 13.3 (range 4-22) mL/kg/d, no patient had significant wound bleeding, and 1 (0.03%) patient had gastrointestinal bleeding. In the control group, the median chest-tube drainage was 16.5 (range 3-24) mL/kg/d, 1 (0.03%) patient had wound bleeding, and no patient had gastrointestinal bleeding. CONCLUSION: Ketorolac can be used to treat pain after congenital heart surgery without an increased risk of bleeding complications.

Risk factors for persistent pleural effusions after the extracardiac Fontan procedure.

OBJECTIVE: Pleural effusions after the Fontan operation contribute significantly to morbidity and prolonged hospitalization. This study investigates the association between selected preoperative, operative, and postoperative variables and persistent pleural effusions after the extracardiac Fontan procedure. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of extracardiac Fontan procedures. The variables analyzed as potential risk factors included age and weight at the time of the operation, anatomic diagnosis, preoperative oxygen saturation, mean pulmonary artery pressure, ventricular end-diastolic pressure, presence of an accessory source of pulmonary blood flow, presence of significant aortopulmonary collateral vessels, presence of fenestration, cardiopulmonary bypass time, conduit size, postoperative pulmonary artery pressure, use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and presence of postoperative infection. The outcome measures evaluated were duration and volume of chest tube drainage after surgical intervention. RESULTS: From June 1997 to August 2002, 100 consecutive patients underwent the extracardiac Fontan procedure. The median age at operation was 3.1 years. The median duration of chest tube drainage was 10 days, and the median volume of drainage was 14.7 mL.kg(-1).d(-1). As determined by means of multivariate analysis, significant risk factors for pleural effusions lasting more than 2 weeks were lower preoperative oxygen saturation (P =.011) and the presence of postoperative infections (P =.003). Significant risk factors for pleural effusions draining at more than 20 mL.kg(-1).d(-1) were lower preoperative oxygen saturation (P =.005), smaller conduit size (P =.04), and longer duration of cardiopulmonary bypass (P =.004). CONCLUSIONS: Lower preoperative oxygen saturation, presence of postoperative infection, smaller conduit size, and longer duration of cardiopulmonary bypass were associated with persistent pleural effusions after the extracardiac Fontan procedure. Modifications of some of these risk factors might influence the duration and volume of pleural drainage after surgical intervention.

Non-anti-Gal alpha1-3Gal antibody mechanisms are sufficient to cause hyperacute lung dysfunction in pulmonary xenotransplantation.

BACKGROUND: Hyperacute lung dysfunction, which is always associated with pulmonary pig-to-primate xenotransplantation is not well understood. The mechanisms associated with its occurrence seem to differ from mechanisms involved in hyperacute xenograft rejection seen in porcine hearts or kidneys transplanted into primates. To determine the contribution of anti-Gal alpha1-3Gal antibodies (alphaGAb) in such a process, we performed a set of orthotopic pig lung transplants into baboons depleted of alphaGAb and compared graft function and survival with those receiving only immunosuppression. STUDY DESIGN: Pigs expressing human membrane cofactor protein served as donors. All baboons received triple immunosuppressive therapy. Depletion of alphaGAb in the experimental group (n = 4) was done by way of immunoadsorption using immunoaffinity membranes. Controls (n = 4) did not undergo immunoadsorption. Orthotopic lung transplants were performed through a left thoracotomy. Main pulmonary artery blood flow and pressure, left pulmonary artery blood flow, and left atrial pressure were recorded. RESULTS: At 1 hour after reperfusion, pulmonary artery graft flows and pulmonary vascular resistances (PVR) were better in animals depleted of alphaGAb than in controls (605 +/- 325.2 mL/min versus 230 +/- 21 mL/min; 27.1 +/- 41.3 mmHg/L/min versus 63 +/- 1 mmHg/L/min). But at 3 hours after reperfusion average graft flows in baboons depleted of alphaGAb had decreased to 277.6 +/- 302.2 mL/min and PVRs had increased 58.3 +/- 42.0 mmHg/L/min. On the other hand, controls maintained stable flows and PVRs (223 +/- 23 mL/min; 61 +/- 3 mmHg/L/min). Survival was ultimately better in control baboons when compared with alphaGAb depleted ones (12.2 +/- 3.3 h versus 4.4 +/- 3.2 h). CONCLUSION: Unlike heart and kidney xenograft transplants, hyperacute lung xenograft dysfunction seems to be mediated by factors other than alphaGAb.