Predictors of Left Ventricular Remodeling after Aortic Valve Replacement in Pediatric Patients with Isolated Aortic Regurgitation

Prognostic Effects of Operation Age for Pediatric Patients with Supravalvar Aortic Stenosis

Background

The appropriate age for surgical repair of asymptomatic congenital supravalvular aortic stenosis (SVAS) is still unknown. The purpose of this research was to assess the safety and effectiveness of various operation ages when managing SVAS.

Methods

Consecutive asymptomatic SVAS pediatric patients in the Beijing Fuwai and Yunnan Fuwai hospitals over a period of 18 years were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were classified as follows: age <2.0 years (y) (n = 84), 2.0-5.0 y (n = 72), and >5.0 y (n = 92). The primary safety endpoint was in-hospital death or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) needed. The primary effectiveness outcome was re-operation or restenosis during follow-up. To calculate the hazard ratios (HR), Cox regression with inverse probability of treatment weighted was utilized.

Results

At the time of surgery, the median age of the 248 patients that were included was 4 y (interquartile range (IQR): 1.8-6.5). For the primary safety outcome, 7 (8.3%) patients in the age <2.0 y group had in-hospital death or ECMO needed, while no patients in the age 2.0-5.0 y and age>5.0 y groups (p = 0.001). The median follow-up was 25.5 months (IQR: 7.0-59.0). Compared with the age 2.0-5.0 y group, the age <2.0 y group and age >5.0 y group had a higher risk of re-operation or restenosis (age <2.0 y, HR = 3.27, 95% CI 1.25-8.60; age >5.0 y, HR = 2.87, 95% CI 1.19-6.91).

Conclusions

Asymptomatic children with SVAS without other cardiovascular abnormalities should be considered for delayed surgical intervention until 2 years of age, and then surgery should be conducted as soon as possible. Children with severe symptoms should undergo surgery immediately, regardless of age.

Clinical Trial Registration

ChiCTR2300067851, https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=177491.

Video-Based Deep Learning for Automated Assessment of Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in Pediatric Patients

BACKGROUND

Significant interobserver and interstudy variability occurs for left ventricular (LV) functional indices despite standardization of measurement techniques. Artificial intelligence models trained on adult echocardiograms are not likely to be applicable to a pediatric population. We present EchoNet-Peds, a video-based deep learning algorithm, which matches human expert performance of LV segmentation and ejection fraction (EF).

METHODS

A large pediatric data set of 4,467 echocardiograms was used to develop EchoNet-Peds. EchoNet-Peds was trained on 80% of the data for segmentation of the left ventricle and estimation of LVEF. The remaining 20% was used to fine-tune and validate the algorithm.

RESULTS

In both apical 4-chamber and parasternal short-axis views, EchoNet-Peds segments the left ventricle with a Dice similarity coefficient of 0.89. EchoNet-Peds estimates EF with a mean absolute error of 3.66% and can routinely identify pediatric patients with systolic dysfunction (area under the curve of 0.95). EchoNet-Peds was trained on pediatric echocardiograms and performed significantly better to estimate EF (P < .001) than an adult model applied to the same data.

CONCLUSIONS

Accurate, rapid automation of EF assessment and recognition of systolic dysfunction in a pediatric population are feasible using EchoNet-Peds with the potential for far-reaching clinical impact. In addition, the first large pediatric data set of annotated echocardiograms is now publicly available for efforts to develop pediatric-specific artificial intelligence algorithms.

Echocardiographic evaluation of left ventricular systolic function by the M-mode lateral mitral annular plane systolic excursion in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy age 0-21 years

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) results in cardiac fibrosis and dysfunction. These patients frequently have poor image quality. Mitral annular plane systolic excursion (MAPSE) is a reproducible and reliable method for determining function and can be a valuable tool in patients with poor images. Our study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of MAPSE and compare it to shortening fraction (SF) in patients with DMD.

METHODS

Lateral M-mode MAPSE was obtained on all echocardiograms performed on DMD patients aged 0 to 21 years between October 2013 and April 2015. Retrospectively, interobserver and intraobserver variability was determined for these measurements and each measurement was compared to patient characteristics and measured values of SF.

RESULTS

There was good interobserver (r 2 = .66, P = .0081) correlation. Seventeen of 59 echocardiograms (29%) had abnormal SF while 32 (54%) echocardiograms had an abnormal M-mode lateral MAPSE Z-score. There was no significant association between lateral MAPSE Z-score and SF. Age at the time of echocardiogram and time from diagnosis to echocardiogram both had a significant negative correlation with lateral MAPSE.

CONCLUSIONS

Lateral M-mode MAPSE measurements are reproducible in young patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. M-mode lateral MAPSE may worsen over length of time with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Further studies are necessary to provide absolute conclusions, but this study shows that lateral M-mode MAPSE may be a valuable additional tool at routine echocardiogram in these patients.

Cardiomyopathy in Children: Classification and Diagnosis: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

In this scientific statement from the American Heart Association, experts in the field of cardiomyopathy (heart muscle disease) in children address 2 issues: the most current understanding of the causes of cardiomyopathy in children and the optimal approaches to diagnosis cardiomyopathy in children. Cardiomyopathies result in some of the worst pediatric cardiology outcomes; nearly 40% of children who present with symptomatic cardiomyopathy undergo a heart transplantation or die within the first 2 years after diagnosis. The percentage of children with cardiomyopathy who underwent a heart transplantation has not declined over the past 10 years, and cardiomyopathy remains the leading cause of transplantation for children >1 year of age. Studies from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-funded Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry have shown that causes are established in very few children with cardiomyopathy, yet genetic causes are likely to be present in most. The incidence of pediatric cardiomyopathy is ≈1 per 100 000 children. This is comparable to the incidence of such childhood cancers as lymphoma, Wilms tumor, and neuroblastoma. However, the published research and scientific conferences focused on pediatric cardiomyopathy are sparcer than for those cancers. The aim of the statement is to focus on the diagnosis and classification of cardiomyopathy. We anticipate that this report will help shape the future research priorities in this set of diseases to achieve earlier diagnosis, improved clinical outcomes, and better quality of life for these children and their families.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation in Infants and Children With Cardiac Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association

Cardiac arrest occurs at a higher rate in children with heart disease than in healthy children. Pediatric basic life support and advanced life support guidelines focus on delivering high-quality resuscitation in children with normal hearts. The complexity and variability in pediatric heart disease pose unique challenges during resuscitation. A writing group appointed by the American Heart Association reviewed the literature addressing resuscitation in children with heart disease. MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases were searched from 1966 to 2015, cross-referencing pediatric heart disease with pertinent resuscitation search terms. The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association classification of recommendations and levels of evidence for practice guidelines were used. The recommendations in this statement concur with the critical components of the 2015 American Heart Association pediatric basic life support and pediatric advanced life support guidelines and are meant to serve as a resuscitation supplement. This statement is meant for caregivers of children with heart disease in the prehospital and in-hospital settings. Understanding the anatomy and physiology of the high-risk pediatric cardiac population will promote early recognition and treatment of decompensation to prevent cardiac arrest, increase survival from cardiac arrest by providing high-quality resuscitations, and improve outcomes with postresuscitation care.

Indications for intervention in asymptomatic children with chronic mitral regurgitation

Based on outcome data, surgery is recommended for asymptomatic adults with chronic mitral regurgitation (MR) and systolic dysfunction, marked left ventricular (LV) dilation, pulmonary hypertension, atrial fibrillation, or high likelihood of successful repair; but indications for children are poorly defined. We sought to determine predictors of postoperative LV dysfunction in asymptomatic children with chronic MR. The surgical database was searched for all children who underwent mitral valve surgery for chronic MR (2000-2012). Exclusion criteria were preoperative symptoms, acute MR, cardiomyopathy, or other defects affecting LV size. Preoperative and latest follow-up clinical and echocardiographic data were obtained. LV dysfunction was defined as ejection fraction (EF) ≤55% or shortening fraction (SF) ≤28%. Associations between preoperative factors and late LV dysfunction were determined using univariate Poisson regression. For the 25 children who met criteria, preoperative median LV end systolic Z score (LVESZ) was 5.3, EF was 65%, and SF was 34%. At follow-up (median 3.9 years), nine patients (36%) had LV dysfunction. Lower preoperative SF (OR 0.6, p < 0.001) and higher LVESZ (OR 1.7, p < 0.01) were associated with late LV dysfunction. LVESZ ≥ 5 combined with SF ≤ 33% had a sensitivity of 89%, specificity of 88%, and negative predictive value of 93% for late LV dysfunction. Only 1/14 patients with preoperative SF > 33% had late LV dysfunction. For asymptomatic children with chronic MR, surgery should be considered before LVESZ exceeds five and SF falls below 33%. Patients with SF > 33% may be followed with serial echocardiographic measurements.

Timing of aortic valve intervention in pediatric chronic aortic insufficiency

The timing of aortic valve intervention (AVI) in pediatric patients with chronic aortic insufficiency (AI) is largely based on adult experience, which is fraught with uncertainty and controversy. Current adult guidelines in the absence of symptoms use left ventricular (LV) systolic function and LV dimensions to guide AVI timing, with few studies translating these recommendations to pediatric patients. This article reviews the current guidelines for AVI timing in chronic AI along with the emerging data for pediatric patients.