High Maternal Neonatal Mortality and Morbidity in Pregnancy with Eisenmenger Syndrome

Cyanotic Congenital Heart Disease in Pregnancy: A Review of Pathophysiology and Management

The advancement of medical treatment and surgical technique, along with the invention of cardiopulmonary bypass, has allowed for long-term survival of patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease (CHD)-with many women with CHD now reaching child-bearing age and wishing to become pregnant. Pregnancy in these women is a major concern as the physiologic adaptations of pregnancy, including an increased circulating volume, increased cardiac output, reduced systemic vascular resistance, and decreased blood pressure, place a substantial load on the cardiovascular system. These changes are essential to meet the increased maternal and fetal metabolic demands and allow for sufficient placental circulation during gestation. However, in women with underlying structural heart conditions, they place an additional hemodynamic burden on the maternal body. Overall, with appropriate risk stratification, pre-conception counseling, and management by specialized cardiologists and high-risk obstetricians, most women with surgically corrected CHDs are expected to carry healthy pregnancies to term with optimization of both maternal and fetal risks. In this article, we describe the current understanding of 5 cyanotic CHDs-Tetralogy of Fallot, Transposition of the Great Arteries, Truncus Arteriosus, Ebstein's Anomaly, and Eisenmenger Syndrome-and explore the specific hemodynamic consequences, maternal and fetal risks, current guidelines, and outcomes of pregnancy in women with these conditions.

Determinants of prematurity in urban Indonesia: a meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

Indonesia is the fifth country with the highest number of preterm births worldwide. More than a third of neonatal deaths in Indonesia were attributed to preterm birth. Residential areas affected the occurrence of preterm birth due to differing socioeconomic and environmental conditions. Many studies have investigated the determinants of prematurity in Indonesia, however, most of them were performed in rural areas. This study is the first meta-analysis describing the determinants of preterm birth in urban Indonesia, which aimed to become the foundation upon implementing the most suitable preventative measure and policy to reduce the rate of preterm birth.

METHODS

We collected all published papers investigating the determinants of preterm birth in urban Indonesia from PubMed MEDLINE and EMBASE, using keywords developed from the following key concepts: "preterm birth", "determinants", "risk factors", "Indonesia" and the risk factors, such as "high-risk pregnancy", "anemia", "pre-eclampsia", and "infections". Exclusion criteria were multicenter studies that did not perform a specific analysis on the Indonesian population or did not separate urban and rural populations in their analysis, and articles not available in English or Indonesian. The Newcastle Ottawa Scale was used to assess the risk of bias. This systematic review was registered in PROSPERO.

RESULTS

Sixteen articles were included in the analysis and classified into five categories: genetic factors, nutrition, smoking, pregnancy characteristics or complications, and disease-related characteristics.

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis revealed adolescent pregnancy, smoking, eclampsia, bacterial vaginosis, LC-PUFA, placental vitamin D, and several minerals as the significant determinants of preterm birth in urban Indonesia.

Anesthetic management of a pregnant patient with Eisenmenger's syndrome: A case report

BACKGROUND

Eisenmenger's syndrome (ES) is a rare complication of congenital heart disease that includes pulmonary artery hypertension and reversed or bidirectional shunts. The mortality rate of pregnant women with ES is 30%-70% due to pathophysiological deterioration. Successful perioperative management of a pregnant patient with ES is a challenge for anesthesiologists.

CASE SUMMARY

A 38-year-old pregnant woman was admitted to the cardiology department of our hospital at 22 wk of gestation with complaints of chest tightness and shortness of breath for 3 wk. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed a bidirectional shunt between the descending aorta and pulmonary artery after interventional closure of the patent ductus arteriosus and severe pulmonary hypertension. ES in pregnancy was our primary suspicion. The patient elected to terminate the pregnancy under adequate preoperative preparation, rigorous intraoperative monitoring, and perfect epidural anesthesia. She was discharged successfully on postoperative day 16.

CONCLUSION

Our experience in this case suggests that successful outcomes are possible in pregnant patients with ES for termination of pregnancy under epidural anesthesia and intensive monitoring.

Pregnancy outcomes of women with Eisenmenger syndrome: A single-center study

BACKGROUND

To explore the outcomes of mothers with Eisenmenger syndrome (ES) and their offspring.

METHODS

Pregnant women with ES admitted to the Beijing Anzhen Hospital between 2010 and 2019 were retrospectively analyzed and followed up.

RESULTS

Forty-two parturient women with ES were recruited, with an average age of 26.7 years (standard deviation [SD], ±4.0 years). The average gestational age was 33.7 weeks (SD, ±2.5 weeks). The average percutaneous oxygen saturation was 84.1 (±9.2), and 40 (95.2%) had caesarean delivery. The average pulmonary artery systolic pressure was 107.5 mmHg (SD, ±20.3 mmHg). Twelve (28.6%) women experienced pulmonary hypertensive crisis; 11 (26.2%) of these women died. Regarding the offspring, the average fetal weight was 1778.1 g (SD, ±555.3 g), six (14.3%) died, and congenital heart disease was diagnosed in three (7.1%). There were significant differences in age, gestational age, percutaneous oxygen saturation, Apgar score, and heart failure between the maternal death and non-death groups (P < 0.05). Death was mainly related to pulmonary hypertensive crisis and heart failure.

CONCLUSIONS

We recommend pregnancy termination if ES occurs during early pregnancy; however, patients should be informed of the risks if it occurs during late pregnancy. Multidisciplinary cooperation should be strengthened to improve the prognosis of the mothers and their offspring.

Fruitful Pregnancy Outcome in a Case of Eisenmenger Syndrome With Severe Pulmonary Hypertension: A Rare Case Report

Eisenmenger syndrome (ES) is considered an absolute contraindication for pregnancy. ES is characterized by a congenital heart abnormality that results in a significant anatomical shunt. Hemodynamic forces generate a left-right shunt, leading to severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Eventually, the shunt will become a right-to-left shunt due to increased pulmonary vascular resistance, leading to significant hypoxemia and cyanosis. Pregnant women with ES experience volume overload as a result of the syndrome and the physiological response of pregnancy. The decrease in systemic vascular resistance that occurs during pregnancy also increases the right-to-left shunt, resulting in left ventricular failure. Due to the significant risk to both the mother and the fetus, women are advised to terminate their pregnancy during the first trimester. However, with all the odds, very few cases show positive neonatal and maternal outcomes. Appropriate management of ES includes a multidisciplinary team assembled to monitor and manage the patient carefully and thoroughly. In this paper, we present a case of ES secondary to an atrial septal defect with severe PAH in a 32-year-old woman who underwent a cesarean section at 33 weeks of gestation. She delivered a healthy baby girl. On the seventh postoperative day, she was discharged with no complications.