Repair with a pulmonary neovalve in tetralogy of Fallot: does this avoid ventricular dysfunction?

OBJECTIVES: Given the anatomical variations of tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), different surgical techniques can be used to achieve correction. Transannular patches (TAPs) are the most commonly used technique; they are associated with right ventricular dysfunction, the incidence of which can be reduced through pulmonary valve preservation. METHODS: Between January 2010 and July 2019, we performed 274 surgical corrections of tetralogy of Fallot at Fundación Cardioinfantil; 63 patients (23%) underwent repair with a TAP in addition to a pulmonary neovalve (Group I), 66 patients (24.1%) received a TAP without a pulmonary valve (Group II) and 145 patients (52.9%) had a repair with valve preservation (Group III). We analysed patient's characteristics before, during and after surgery at a 30-day follow-up. RESULTS: We found that patients in Group III were older (P = 0.04). Group II had the lowest level of O2 saturation before surgery (82%, P = 0.001). Cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times were longer in Group I (P < 0.001). Right ventricular dysfunction was less frequent in Group III (15.9%, P = 0.011). Severe residual pulmonary regurgitation was more common in Group II (21.9%, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Preservation of the pulmonary valve is an important factor for immediate postoperative management of tetralogy of Fallot. Patients who were repaired with a TAP with or without a pulmonary neovalve had a higher incidence of right ventricular dysfunction than those with pulmonary valve preservation.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of newborn pulse oximetry screening to detect critical congenital heart disease in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: In many countries, economic assessments of the routine use of pulse oximetry in the detection of Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) at birth has not yet been carried out. CCHDs necessarily require medical intervention within the first months of life. This assessment is a priority in low and medium resource countries. The purpose of this study was to assess the cost-effectiveness (CE) relation of pulse oximetry in the detection of cases of CCHD in Colombia. METHODS: A full economic assessment of the cost-effectiveness type was conducted from the perspective of society. A decision tree was constructed to establish a comparison between newborn physical examination plus pulse oximetry, versus physical examination alone, in the diagnosis of CCHDs. The sensitivity and specificity of pulse oximetry were estimated from a systematic review of the literature; to assess resource use, micro-costing analyses and surveys were conducted. The time horizon of the economic evaluation was the first week after birth and until the first year of life. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) was determined and, to control for uncertainty, deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were made, including the adoption of different scenarios of budgetary impact. All costs are expressed in US dollars from 2017, using the average exchange rate for 2017 [$2,951.15 COP for 1 dollar]. RESULTS: The costs of pulse oximetry screening plus physical examination were $102; $7 higher than physical examination alone. The effectiveness of pulse oximetry plus the physical examination was 0.93; that is, 0.07 more than the physical examination on its own. The ICER was $100 for pulse oximetry screening; that is, if one wishes to increase 1% the probability of a correct CCHD diagnosis, this amount would have to be invested. A willingness to pay of $26.292 USD (direct medical cost) per probability of a correct CCHD diagnosis was assumed. CONCLUSIONS: At current rates and from the perspective of society, newborn pulse oximetry screening at 24 h in addition to physical examination, and considering a time horizon of 1 week, is a cost-effective strategy in the early diagnosis of CCHDs in Colombia.Trial registration "retrospectively registered".

New Regenerative Vascular Grafts for Hemodialysis Access: Evaluation of a Preclinical Animal Model.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a suitable animal model for the in vivo evaluation of patency and vascular tissue regeneration in small intestinal submucosa (SIS) vascular grafts for hemodialysis access. First, a 4-mm U-shaped SIS vascular graft was implanted between the internal carotid artery (CA) and the external jugular vein (JV) in five sheep and six swine. The U-shape grafts remained functional for 53 ± 4 days in sheep and 32 ± 2 days in swine. The sheep model presented exaggerated inflammation, so the swine model was selected for the in vivo study. Based on these initial results, a 4-mm C-shape SIS vascular graft with SIS circumferential reinforcement was developed to mechanically improve the vascular graft and manage complications identified during surgery in both sheep and swine. The C-shape vascular graft was implanted in a swine model (n = 3) between the CA and JV. GORE-TEX® vascular grafts were used as controls in the contralateral side of the neck. C-shape grafts remained patent for 47 ± 4 days, whereas the GORE-TEX® grafts were patent for 30 ± 15 days. The C-shape vascular graft was easier to handle during surgery, and its circumferential reinforcement improved in vivo patency, avoiding kinks in the graft after implantation. Histological results showed neovascularization and some regeneration with the alignment of endothelial cells in the vascular wall of the grafts. The model developed may be helpful in other research involving in vivo studies of vascular grafts for hemodialysis access.