Anesthetic care of parturients with single ventricle physiology

Anesthetic management for cesarean section in parturient with an uncorrected single ventricle: A case report and literature review

RATIONALE

Patients with a single ventricle, who have not undergone surgery, reportedly have a lower survival rate. Furthermore, multiple pregnancies are rare among these females. We reported a case of anesthesia management of cesarean section in an uncorrected single-ventricular multi-pregnancy woman and review the anesthesia management of the published similar cases.

PATIENT CONCERNS

An uncorrected single ventricular pregnant woman with a cardiac function of New York Heart Association class II, who had experienced one spontaneous abortion and three vaginal deliveries, was scheduled for cesarean section at 37+6 weeks of gestation.

DIAGNOSES

: Echocardiography revealed a complex congenital heart disease in the mother: a single ventricle (the left ventricle is dominant), atrioventricular valve ectopic, double-inlet left ventricle, abnormal location of the great arteries, probably pulmonary stenosis, atrial septal defect, and left-to-right shunt. The fetus was in breech presentation with umbilical cord around the neck.

INTERVENTIONS

Cesarean section was successfully performed under the combined spinal epidural anesthesia with careful monitoring.

OUTCOMES

: Both mother and newborn recovered good and were discharged from the hospital 5 days after surgery without any adverse reactions.

LESSONS

Single ventricular pregnant woman with a cardiac function of New York Heart Association class I-II could tolerate pregnancy and delivery well. Both general and regional anesthesia are applicable to cesarean section in these patients. The principle of anesthesia management is to maintain the appropriate balance between systemic vascular resistance and pulmonary vascular resistance, as well as to maintain preload and cardiac output.

Perioperative Management of the Fontan Patient for Cardiac and Noncardiac Surgery

The Fontan circulation is the single-ventricle approach to surgical palliation of complex congenital heart disease wherein biventricular separation and function cannot be safely achieved. Incremental improvements in this surgical technique, along with improvements in the long-term medical management of these patients, have led to greater survival of these patients and a remarkably steady increase in the number of adults living with this unusual circulation and physiology. This has implications for healthcare providers who now have a greater chance of encountering Fontan patients during the course of their practice. This has particularly important implications for anesthesiologists because the effects of their interventions on the finely balanced Fontan circulation may be profound. The American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology recommend that, when possible, elective surgery should be performed in an adult congenital heart disease center, although this may not be feasible in the provision of true emergency care. This review article summarizes the pathophysiology pertinent to the provision of anesthesia in this complex patient group and describes important modifications to anesthetic technique and perioperative management.

Consensus Document of the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO), Italian Society of Pediatric Cardiology (SICP), and Italian Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetrics (SIGO): pregnancy and congenital heart diseases

The success of cardiac surgery over the past 50 years has increased numbers and median age of survivors with congenital heart disease (CHD). Adults now represent two-thirds of patients with CHD; in the USA alone the number is estimated to exceed 1 million. In this population, many affected women reach reproductive age and wish to have children. While in many CHD patients pregnancy can be accomplished successfully, some special situations with complex anatomy, iatrogenic or residual pathology are associated with an increased risk of severe maternal and fetal complications. Pre-conception counselling allows women to come to truly informed choices. Risk stratification tools can also help high-risk women to eventually renounce to pregnancy and to adopt safe contraception options. Once pregnant, women identified as intermediate or high risk should receive multidisciplinary care involving a cardiologist, an obstetrician and an anesthesiologist with specific expertise in managing this peculiar medical challenge. This document is intended to provide cardiologists working in hospitals where an Obstetrics and Gynecology Department is available with a streamlined and practical tool, useful for them to select the best management strategies to deal with a woman affected by CHD who desires to plan pregnancy or is already pregnant.

Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia for urgent cesarean section in a parturient with a single ventricle: a case report

The number of women with major congenital heart defects reaching reproductive age is likely increasing. We herein describe the anesthetic management of a 33-year-old woman at 37 gestational weeks with a history of Glenn surgery who was undergoing an urgent cesarean section due to pathological cardiotocography. Combined spinal-epidural anesthesia was the most suitable technique for urgent cesarean section in our patient with a single ventricle and phasic flow in the pulmonary artery because it provided rapid-onset anesthesia with negligible hemodynamic effects.

[Patient with a Fontan circulation undergoing caesarean section: Anesthesiological management]

Adults suffering from congenital heart diseases (CHD) represent a challenge to anesthesiologists because of the diverse pathologies, complex pathophysiology and special treatment strategies. Due to improved therapeutic options for CHD, patient quality of life and life expectancy is increasing, leaving them as a growing population including pregnant patients with CHD. This article presents the main principles of the pathophysiology and anesthesiological management of pregnant patients living with a Fontan circulation based on a case report, which was complicated by an aortic coarctation and atonic uterine hemorrhage.

The Year in Review

Congenital cardiac anesthesiology is a young and rapidly growing subspecialty. It embraces a large spectrum of congenital and acquired heart diseases, which now affect the entire life span of patients from “cradle to grave.” One of the challenges faced by congenital cardiac anesthesiologists is reading the large amount of relevant literature from the fields of cardiology, cardiac surgery, intensive care medicine, and anesthesiology. This review highlights some of the current themes in the literature during the past year.