Factors influencing outcomes in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome: a nine-year follow-up study

Management of Unrepaired Tetralogy of Fallot in an 86-Year-Old Patient Undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is the most common cyanotic congenital heart defect, typically requiring early treatment in infancy. Untreated TOF is associated with poor survival, with most uncorrected patients not surviving beyond the third decade. Here, we present a unique case of an 86-year-old female with uncorrected TOF who underwent a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure due to severe aortic stenosis (AS). The patient's TOF was identified during infancy, and she was categorized as an acyanotic "pink baby." Notably, the first palliative surgery for TOF was performed in 1944, when the patient was seven years old. The patient never underwent corrective surgery for TOF and continued to lead a symptom-free life until she developed severe AS later in life. The TAVR procedure significantly improved her symptoms, illustrating the importance of considering alternative etiologies for symptoms in elderly patients with uncorrected TOF and AS. In addition, we underscore the anesthetic management during TAVR, specifically highlighting the challenges addressed, such as the utilization of general anesthesia with transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and the placement of a pulmonary artery (PA) catheter.

Emergent Decompression of Intracranial Abscess in Eisenmenger Syndrome

BACKGROUND

Eisenmenger syndrome is a rare sequela of uncorrected congenital heart disease complicated by pulmonary hypertension, from which reversal of the pathologic left-to-right cardiovascular shunt and cyanosis follow. Right-to-left shunting can lead to paradoxical cerebral emboli-increasing the risk of spontaneous or iatrogenic stroke and cerebral abscess.

CASE DESCRIPTION

A 38-year-old man presented with new focal seizures due to a brain abscess. Ventricular septal defect and pulmonary hypertension were identified. Despite dexamethasone and broad-spectrum antibiotics, he developed hemiparesis and altered mental status and required emergent stereotactic abscess drainage. Despite the anesthetic hazards of Eisenmenger syndrome, the procedure was successful and the patient recovered completely.

CONCLUSIONS

Noncardiac perioperative mortality in Eisenmenger syndrome is historically reported up to 19%, and risks are further increased with prolonged case duration or hypotension, mandating vigilant attention to volume status. Correspondingly, shorter- or lower-risk procedures such as stereotactic drainage are recommended. Procedures should be performed only at centers with expertise in management of Eisenmenger syndrome and cardiac-specialized anesthesiologists whenever possible. Although a conservative approach with early, aggressive medical management is preferred, operative intervention may be required in the setting of progressive deterioration and excellent postoperative outcomes are achievable.

Phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors improve microvascular dysfunction markers in pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease

BACKGROUND

Ideally, vasodilator therapies for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) should have a favorable impact on markers of vascular dysfunction, in addition to their known effects on hemodynamics, cardiac function, and patient's physical capacity.

METHODS

We analyzed circulating (plasma) markers of endothelial and platelet activation/dysfunction (enzyme-linked immunoassays) in the specific setting of advanced PAH associated with congenital heart disease, during the course of sildenafil and tadalafil therapies. Thirty-one patients were enrolled (age 10-54 years), most of them with chronic hypoxemia and elevated hematocrit. Drugs were administered orally for 6 months (sildenafil [n = 16], 20 mg t.i.d.; tadalafil [n = 15], single daily dose of 40 mg). Measurements were performed at baseline, and 90 and 180 days.

RESULTS

Compared to controls, patients had elevated baseline β-thromboglobulin (β-TG, P = .002), P-selectin (P = .027), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA, P = .009), and von Willebrand factor antigen (VWF:Ag, P = .010). Thrombomodulin was importantly reduced (TM, P < .001), while soluble CD40 Ligand was not changed (P = .320). Tadalafil administration was associated with improvement of β-TG (P = .004), t-PA (P = .003) and TM (P = .046) levels, while P-selectin was improved by sildenafil treatment only (P = .034). VWF:Ag improved transiently in the sildenafil group (P = .019). Both therapies were associated with improvement of the physical capacity (functional class and distance walked during the 6-minute test, P < .05), hematocrit and hemoglobin level (P < .05), and health-related quality of life (physical and mental components, P < .05).

CONCLUSION

In PAH associated with congenital heart disease, phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors seem to have beneficial actions at microcirculatory level, beyond the proposed effects as vasodilators.

Vascular Adaptation of the Right Ventricle in Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension

Optimal right ventricular (RV) function in pulmonary hypertension (PH) requires structural and functional coupling between the RV cardiomyocyte and its adjacent capillary network. Prior investigations have indicated that RV vascular rarefaction occurs in PH, which could contribute to RV failure by reduced delivery of oxygen or other metabolic substrates. However, it has not been determined if rarefaction results from relative underproliferation in the setting of tissue hypertrophy or from actual loss of vessels. It is also unknown if rarefaction results in inadequate substrate delivery to the RV tissue. In the present study, PH was induced in rats by SU5416-hypoxia-normoxia exposure. The vasculature in the RV free wall was assessed using stereology. Steady-state metabolomics of the RV tissue was performed by mass spectrometry. Complementary studies were performed in hypoxia-exposed mice and rats. Rats with severe PH had evidence of RV failure by decreased cardiac output and systemic hypotension. By stereology, there was significant RV hypertrophy and increased total vascular length in the RV free wall in close proportion, with evidence of vessel proliferation but no evidence of endothelial cell apoptosis. There was a modest increase in the radius of tissue served per vessel, with decreased arterial delivery of metabolic substrates. Metabolomics revealed major metabolic alterations and metabolic reprogramming; however, metabolic substrate delivery was functionally preserved, without evidence of either tissue hypoxia or depletion of key metabolic substrates. Hypoxia-treated rats and mice had similar but milder alterations. There is significant homeostatic vascular adaptation in the right ventricle of rodents with PH.