Catheter interventions in congenital heart disease without regular catheterization laboratory equipment: the chain of hope experience in Rwanda

Percutaneous Closure of Patent Ductus Arteriosus in Infants 1.5 kg or Less: A Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVE

To investigate technical success and safety of percutaneous patent ductus arteriosus closure in infants ≤1.5 kg.

STUDY DESIGN

A systematic review and meta-analysis was performed. Data sources included Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane, and PubMed from inception to April 2020. Publications were included if they had a clear definition of the intervention as percutaneous patent ductus arteriosus closure in infants ≤1.5 kg. Data extraction was independently performed by multiple observers. Primary outcome was technical success and secondary outcomes were adverse events (AEs). Subgroup analysis was performed in infants ≤6.0 kg. Data were pooled by using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

We included 28 studies, including 373 infants ≤1.5 kg and 69 studies enrolling 1794 infants ≤6.0 kg. In patients ≤1.5 kg, technical success was 96% (95% CI, 93%-98%; P = .16; I² = 23%). The overall incidence of AE was 27% (95% CI, 17%-38%; P < .001; I² = 70%) and major AEs was 8% (95% CI, 5%-10%; P = .63; I² = 0%). There were 5 deaths related to the procedure (2%; 95% CI, 1%-4%; P = .99; I² = 0%); 4 of these deaths occurred in infants <0.8 kg. The probability of technical failure was inversely related to age at the time of the procedure (OR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.830-0.974; P = .009). Weight at intervention has decreased over time and procedural success has increased.

CONCLUSIONS

Percutaneous patent ductus arteriosus closure is feasible in infants ≤1.5 kg with few major AEs. The procedural success rate is high, despite performing the intervention in smaller patients.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION

CRD42020145230.

Congenital Heart Disease in Low- and Lower-Middle-Income Countries: Current Status and New Opportunities

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The paper summarises the most recent data on congenital heart disease (CHD) in low- and lower-middle-income countries (LLMICs). In addition, we present an approach to diagnosis, management and interventions in these regions and present innovations, research priorities and opportunities to improve outcomes and develop new programs.

RECENT FINDINGS

The reported birth prevalence of CHD in LLMICs is increasing, with clear evidence of the impact of surgical intervention on the burden of disease. New methods of teaching and training are demonstrating improved outcomes. Local capacity building remains the key. There is a significant gap in epidemiological and outcomes data in CHD in LLMICs. Although the global agenda still does not address the needs of children with CHD adequately, regional initiatives are focusing on quality improvement and context-specific interventions. Future research should focus on epidemiology and the use of innovative thinking and partnerships to provide low-cost, high-impact solutions.

Genomics and Epigenomics of Congenital Heart Defects: Expert Review and Lessons Learned in Africa

Congenital heart defects (CHD) are structural malformations found at birth with a prevalence of 1%. The clinical trajectory of CHD is highly variable and thus in need of robust diagnostics and therapeutics. Major surgical interventions are often required for most CHDs. In Africa, despite advances in life sciences infrastructure and improving education of medical scholars, the limited clinical data suggest that CHD detection and correction are still not at par with the rest of the world. But the toll and genetics of CHDs in Africa has seldom been systematically investigated. We present an expert review on CHD with lessons learned on Africa. We found variable CHD phenotype prevalence in Africa across countries and populations. There are important gaps and paucity in genomic studies of CHD in African populations. Among the available genomic studies, the key findings in Africa were variants in GATA4 (P193H), MTHFR 677TT, and MTHFR 1298CC that were associated with atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect (VSD), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF), and patent ductus arteriosus phenotypes and 22q.11 deletion, which is associated with TOF. There were no data on epigenomic association of CHD in Africa, however, other studies have shown an altered expression of miR-421 and miR-1233-3p to be associated with TOF and hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter of SCO2 gene also been associated with TOF and VSD in children with non-syndromic CHD. These findings signal the urgent need to develop and implement genetic and genomic research on CHD to identify the hereditary and genome-environment interactions contributing to CHD. These projected studies would also offer comparisons on CHD pathophysiology between African and other populations worldwide. Genomic research on CHD in Africa should be developed in parallel with next generation technology policy research and responsible innovation frameworks that examine the social and political factors that shape the emergence and societal embedding of new technologies.

A multinational and multidisciplinary approach to treat CHD in paediatric age in Angola: initial experience of a medical-surgical centre for children with heart disease in Angola

BACKGROUND

Epidemiological patterns of cardiac disease differ between developed countries and African nations. Despite the collaborative efforts of developed countries, several obstacles hinder the implementation of successful programmes for the management of children with heart disease in Africa. Materials and methods This study is a retrospective analysis of a bi-national two-institution partnership programme for the treatment of children with congenital and acquired heart disease. In April, 2011, a continuous medical-surgical programme was inaugurated at Clínica Girassol in Luanda. The main goals were to initiate permanent and local delivery of services while training local teams, allowing autonomous medical and surgical management of children with heart disease.

RESULTS

Between April, 2011 and August, 2015, a total of 1766 procedures were performed on 1682 children. Of them, 1539 had CHD and 143 had acquired heart disease; 94 children underwent interventional treatment. A total of 1672 paediatric surgeries were performed on 1588 children: 1087 (65%) were performed with extracorporeal circulation and 585 (35%) were off-pump. The age distribution of the children was 4.5% (n=76) neonatal, 40.4% (n=675) between 30 days and 1 year, and 55.1% (n=921) over 1 year. There were 76 re-operations (4.5%) due to complications. The 30-day mortality rate was 4.2% (71 patients). Education-wise, several Angolan medical and surgical specialists were trained, allowing near-autonomous cardiac care delivery in children with heart disease.

CONCLUSION

An innovative cooperation model between a European and an African centre based on permanent delivery of care and education allowed for effective training of local teams and treatment of children with heart disease in their own environment.

Humanitarian Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in Sub-Saharan Africa: Can We Reshape the Model?

BACKGROUND

In recent decades, humanitarian cardiology and cardiac surgery have shifted toward sending short-term surgical and catheter missions to treat patients. Although this model has been shown to be effective in bringing cardiovascular care to the patients' environment, its effectiveness in creating sustainable service is questioned. This study reports the barriers to contribution of missions to effective skill transfer and possible improvements needed in the future, from the perspective of both the local and overseas teams.

METHODS

We reviewed the mission-based activities in the Children's Heart Fund Cardiac Center in the past six years. We distributed questionnaires to the local surgeons and the lead surgeons of the overseas teams.

RESULTS

Twenty-six missions visited the center 57 times. There were 371 operating days and 605 surgical procedures. Of the procedures performed, 498 were open-heart surgeries. Of the operations, 360 were congenital cases and 204 were rheumatic. Six local surgeons and 18 overseas surgeons responded. Both groups agree the current model of collaboration is not optimal for effective skill transfer. The local surgeons suggested deeper involvement of the universities, governmental institutions, defined training goals and time frame, and communication among the overseas teams themselves as remedies in the future. Majority of the overseas surgeons agree that networking and regular communication among the missions themselves are needed. Some reflected that it would be convenient if the local surgeons are trained by one or two frequently visiting surgeons in their early years and later exposed to multiple teams if needed.

CONCLUSION

The current model of collaboration has brought cardiac care to patients having cardiac diseases. However, the model appears to be suboptimal for skill transfer. The model needs to be reshaped to achieve this complex goal.

Percutaneous Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) Closure During Infancy: A Meta-analysis

CONTEXT

Patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a precursor to morbidity and mortality. Percutaneous (catheter-based) closure is the procedure of choice for adults and older children with a PDA, but use during infancy (<1 year) is not well characterized.

OBJECTIVE

Investigate the technical success and safety of percutaneous PDA closure during infancy.

DATA SOURCES

Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, PubMed, and Ovid (Medline) were searched through December 2015 with no language restrictions.

STUDY SELECTION

Publications needed to clearly define the intervention as percutaneous PDA closure during infancy (<1 year of age at intervention) and must have reported adverse events (AEs).

DATA EXTRACTION

The study was performed according to the Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis checklist and registered prospectively. The quality of the selected studies was critically examined. Data extraction and assignment of AE attributability and severity were independently performed by multiple observers. Outcomes were agreed on a priori. Data were pooled by using a random-effects model.

RESULTS

Thirty-eight studies were included; no randomized controlled trials were found. Technical success of percutaneous PDA closure was 92.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 88.8-95.0). Overall AE and clinically significant AE incidence was 23.3% (95% CI 16.5-30.8) and 10.1% (95% CI 7.8-12.5), respectively. Significant heterogeneity and publication bias were observed.

LIMITATIONS

Limitations include lack of comparative studies, lack of standardized AE reporting strategy, and significant heterogeneity in reporting.

CONCLUSIONS

Percutaneous PDA closure during infancy is feasible and associated with few catastrophic AEs; however, the limitations constrain the interpretability and generalizability of the current findings.

Successful training of self-sufficient interventional paediatric cardiology team in a sub-Saharan setting: a multicentre collaborative model

BACKGROUND

Most children in the Third World do not have access to treatment for heart diseases, as the priorities of health care are different from the developed countries.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Since 2009, teams supported by the Chain of Hope and Spanish medical volunteers have travelled twice a year to help develop paediatric cardiac services in the Cardiac Center in Ethiopia, undertaking four missions each year. As of December 2012, 296 procedures were performed on 287 patients. The procedures included 128 duct occlusions, 55 pulmonary valve dilations, 25 atrial septal defect closures, 14 mitral valve dilations, and others. The local staff were trained to perform a majority of these cases.

RESULTS

Procedural success was achieved in 264 (89.2%). There were three deaths, five device embolisations, and three complications in mitral valve dilation. During the visits, the local staff were trained including one cardiologist, six nurses, and two technicians. The local team performed percutaneous interventions on its own after a couple of years. The goal is also to enable the local team to perform interventions independently.

CONCLUSION

Training of an interventional cardiology team in a sub-Saharan setting is challenging but achievable. It may be difficult for a single centre to commit to sending frequent missions to a developing country to make a meaningful contribution to the training of local teams. In our case, coordination between the teams from the two countries helped to achieve our goals.

Addressing discrepancies: personal experience of a cardiac mission programme in Africa

The worldwide incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is increasing, reflecting a combination of ongoing infective diseases and a rapid rise in traditional 'western' risk factors. It is estimated that in the next 20 years that CVD be the leading cause of death in developing nations. There are high incidences of rheumatic heart disease, coronary artery disease, cardiomyopathies, uncorrected congenital heart disease and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated disease in many low-income countries. Such high levels combined with a lack of diagnostic tests and therapeutic options means mortality and morbidity rates are high. A number of charities and organizations have tried to address the discrepancy of cardiac care within developing areas although the needs remain great. However there is no one global cardiac organization that coordinates such humanitarian work. The challenges of missionary work include the need for appropriate facilities, financial constraints of clinical consumables, and lack of education of local healthcare staff, making the move away from the mission model difficult. The strategy for delivery of care in developing countries should be long term educational and technical support, so that local case volumes increase. However it must be realized that there are many different levels of local services within developing nations with different health and educational needs, including some countries with very high facilities and skills levels, yet high case loads. This paper highlights the personal experience of our organization and the types of diseases encountered in developing countries.

Congenital heart disease and rheumatic heart disease in Africa: recent advances and current priorities

Africa has one of the highest prevalence of heart diseases in children and young adults, including congenital heart disease (CHD) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD). We present here an extensive review of recent data from the African continent highlighting key studies and information regarding progress in CHD and RHD since 2005. Main findings include evidence that the CHD burden is underestimated mainly due to the poor outcome of African children with CHD. The interest in primary prevention for RHD has been recently re-emphasised, and new data are available regarding echocardiographic screening for subclinical RHD and initiation of secondary prevention. There is an urgent need for comprehensive service frameworks to improve access and level of care and services for patients, educational programmes to reinforce the importance of prevention and early diagnosis and a relevant research agenda focusing on the African context.