Echocardiographic features defining right dominant unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: a multi-institutional Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society study.

Background: Definition and management of right dominant unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) remains challenging because unbalance entails a spectrum of left heart hypoplasia. Previous work has highlighted atrioventricular valve (AVV) index as a reasonable defining echocardiographic measure. We sought to assess which additional echocardiographic features might provide further characterization.

Unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: defining the limits of biventricular repair.

Unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect (uAVSD) is a challenging lesion with suboptimal outcomes in the current era. Severe forms of uAVSD mandate univentricular repair with well-documented outcomes. Determining the feasibility of biventricular repair (BVR) in patients with moderate forms of uAVSD is difficult.

Echocardiographic definition and surgical decision-making in unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: a Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society multiinstitutional study.

Background: Although identification of unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD) is obvious when extreme, exact criteria to define the limits of unbalanced are not available. We sought to validate an atrioventricular valve index (AVVI) (left atrioventricular valve area/total atrioventricular valve area, centimeters squared) as a discriminator of balanced and unbalanced forms of complete AVSD and to characterize the association of AVVI with surgical strategies and outcomes.

Methods And Results: Diagnostic echocardiograms and hospital records of 356 infants with complete AVSD at 4 Congenital Heart Surgeons' Society (CHSS) institutions (2000-2006) were reviewed and AVVI measured (n=315).

Unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect: definition and decision making.

Unbalanced atrioventricular septal defect is an uncommon lesion with widely varying anatomic manifestations. When unbalance is severe, diagnosis and treatment is straightforward, directed toward single-ventricle palliation. Milder forms, however, pose a challenge to current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Dosage and effectiveness of intrapleural doxycycline for pediatric postcardiotomy pleural effusions.

Study Objective: To determine the effectiveness of intrapleural doxycycline for the treatment of postcardiotomy pleural effusions in pediatric patients.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Intensive care unit in a pediatric tertiary care center.

The extracardiac conduit Fontan operation using minimal approach extracorporeal circulation: early and midterm outcomes.

Objective: Our approach to the extracardiac conduit Fontan operation has evolved over time from full-pump, to partial-pump, to completely off-pump. This study is designed to report our overall experience with the extracardiac conduit Fontan operation and to evaluate the evolution in bypass technique on postoperative outcomes.

Methods: From September 1992 to April 2005, 285 patients, median age 4.

Accuracy of coronary artery anatomy using two-dimensional echocardiography in d-transposition of great arteries using a two-reviewer method.

We evaluated echocardiographic accuracy for defining coronary artery course in d-transposition of great arteries and the impact of a 2-reviewer method on this accuracy. The echocardiogram reports of 108 patients with d-transposition of great arteries were reviewed for coronary anatomy and compared with the operative report. In method 1, from January 1995 to December 1997, a single reader performed the echocardiogram.

Neurodevelopmental outcome of infants supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after cardiac surgery.

Objectives: To evaluate the long-term neurodevelopmental outcome of infants who underwent cardiac surgery and required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support, and to examine variables that predict death or disability in these patients.

Methods: We studied all infants who had congenital heart disease and were supported postoperatively with ECMO from 1990 to 2001 at our institution (n = 53). Medical records were reviewed retrospectively to obtain clinical variables.