Congenital heart disease affects cerebral size but not brain growth.

Infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) have delayed brain maturation and alterations in brain volume. Brain metrics is a simple measurement technique that can be used to evaluate brain growth. This study used brain metrics to test the hypothesis that alterations in brain size persist at 3 months of age and that infants with CHD have slower rates of brain growth than control infants.

Regional alterations in cerebral growth exist preoperatively in infants with congenital heart disease.

Objectives: Magnetic resonance imaging has been used to define the neurologic abnormalities in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD), including preoperative injury and delayed brain maturation. The present study used qualitative scoring, cerebral biometry, and diffusion imaging to characterize the preoperative brain abnormalities in infants with CHD, including the identification of regions of greater vulnerability.

Methods: A total of 67 infants with CHD had preoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans available for analysis of brain injury using qualitative scoring and brain development using qualitative scoring, metrics, and diffusion imaging.