Risk of Congenital Heart Disease in Newborns with Prenatal Exposure to Anti-depressant Medications.

Introduction It is uncertain whether the use of selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) and other anti-depressants during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of congenital heart disease (CHD) in newborn. There have been various studies showing a number of adverse outcomes, including gestational hypertension, reduced birth weight, altered neonatal pain responses and persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn with exposure to anti-depressant medications. There have been very few longitudinal studies showing CHD association with the use of anti-depressant medications. Our objective is to examine the risk for congenital heart disease of the newborn associated with prenatal exposure to antidepressant medication. Methods We reviewed charts of mothers who were referred for a fetal echocardiogram between January 1st, 2009 and December 31st, 2014. We identified mothers who were exposed to antidepressant medications prenatally. Fetal echocardiograms for these patients were reviewed by two fetal cardiologists and each was blinded to the others' findings. Results A total of 40 patients were identified with prenatal exposure to SSRI. Seven (18%) out of these 40 were found to have a form of CHD. Two fetuses whose mothers were exposed to fluoxetine during pregnancy had large posteriorly malaligned ventricular septal defect, sub-aortic stenosis and critical coarctation identified on fetal echocardiogram. Exposure to citalopram during pregnancy was found to be associated with a moderate size secundum atrial septal defect on one patient and a moderate size mid muscular ventricular septal defect seen on fetal echocardiogram in another patient. Exposure to venlafaxine during pregnancy showed two small muscular ventricular septal defects on fetal echocardiogram on one patient and ductal constriction with increased ductal velocity on another patient. One of the women on escitalopram had a fetus with a large membranous ventricular septal defect (VSD), secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) and left superior vena cava. None of the women on a combination of drugs had CHD. Conclusion There is a risk of congenital heart disease in patients who are prenatally exposed to anti-depressant medications as evident by the specific echocardiographic abnormalities noted in the study.

Hypertriglyceridemia with Acute Pancreatitis in Pediatric Diabetic Ketoacidosis: A Case Report.

A 16-year-old female with new-onset diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) developed acute pancreatitis and hypertriglyceridemia within 24 hours after admission. Her insulin regimen was continued after resolution of DKA, and her pancreatitis with hypertriglyceridemia showed resolution. We are presenting a case of pediatric DKA with hypertriglyceridemia and pancreatitis treated with extended insulin.

Absent pulmonary valve syndrome with left hemitruncus.

Absent pulmonary valve syndrome (APVS) is a rare congenital heart defect, usually associated with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), although other associations have been described. A pregnant woman was referred to fetal echocardiography clinic from the Maternal Fetal Medicine department due to abnormal findings on routine antenatal ultrasound, showing a pulsatile cystic mass above the left atrium and a suspected TOF. A fetal echocardiogram confirmed the presence of TOF/APVS. The pulsatile cystic mass was the aneurysmally dilated main pulmonary artery. The exact origin of the left pulmonary artery (LPA) was not clearly established prenatally. A postnatal echocardiogram of the neonate showed an abnormal origin of the LPA from the ascending aorta (hemitruncus). The neonate subsequently underwent surgical repair with a good outcome. We present a novel case of a TOF/APVS associated with an abnormal origin of the LPA from the ascending aorta.