Congenital heart disease and the central nervous system: a perinatal perspective

Author(s):  
Amanda Shillingford ◽  
Jack Rychik
PEDIATRICS ◽  
1967 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-23
Author(s):  
Patricia M. Clarkson ◽  
Manuel R. Gomez ◽  
Robert B. Wallace ◽  
William H. Weidman

Two cases of severe neurologic symptoms after a Blalock-Taussig anastomosis are presented in detail. The histories of 116 patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease who had such an anastomotic operation at the Mayo Clinic were reviewed. There was a low incidence (less than 1%) of postoperative neurologic complications in patients without evidence of focal dysfunction of the central nervous system prior to operation. The review suggested an increased incidence of complications in those patients with a cerebrovascular abnormality before surgery. It is likely that these complications are related to alterations in the vertebrobasilar arterial system associated with this procedure.


Author(s):  
V. A. Zhelev ◽  
A. S. Pogudina ◽  
E. V. Mikhalev ◽  
A. O. Okorokov ◽  
T. S. Krivonogova ◽  
...  

Aim. To study the features of recovery period of hypoxic lesion to the central nervous system (CNS) in children of the first year of life in the presence of congenital heart disease (CHD).Material and Methods. The study involved 80 children born full-term and premature with gestational status of 35–37 weeks with hypoxic damage to the CNS. The main observation group comprised 50 children with CHD (interventricular and atrial septal defects, open ductus arteriosus). All children underwent a comprehensive health assessment, standard echocardiography, and neurosonography at ages of five to seven days and one, three, and six months. Biochemical analysis included assessment of serum neurospecific enolase (NSE), succinate dehydrogenase (SDG), and α-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (α-GPDH). The control group included 20 full-term newborns without CHD and CNS lesions.Results. The main manifestations in newborns with CHD and hypoxic damage to the CNS were the suppression syndrome, agitation, and hypertension-hydrocephalic syndrome. At the age of six months, a delay in motor development indicators persisted in 35% of children in the main group. The high NSE level in newborns with concomitant septal heart defects was associated with a decrease in the quantitative indicators of neuropsychic development (g = –0.6, p < 0.05). The children with CHD and hypoxic damage to the CNS in the first year of life were significantly more often (p < 0.05) deficient in weight and height. A decrease in the resistance level in the first year of life was observed in 40% of children from the main group, which significantly differed compared with group of children without CHD (p < 0.001). The newborns with hypoxic CNS and CHD lesions had a decrease in the activity of α-GPDH and SDG at the age of five to seven days; the low activity of SDG persisted at the ages of one and six months; the enzyme activity in children of the comparison group was normal (p < 0.05).Conclusion. Children with CHD had the features of clinical course of perinatal damage to the CNS in the acute and recovery periods, a slowdown in the rate of physical and neuropsychic development, a decrease in the resistance level, and impaired functional state of the body. The decreases in the activities of SDG and α-GPDH in children with hypoxic lesions to the CNS in the presence of CHD implied the disturbances in cellular bioenergetics and resulted in inadequate response to external factors.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1959 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 585-603
Author(s):  
Gerold L. Schiebler ◽  
Paul Adams ◽  
Ray C. Anderson

It is the belief of the authors that the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, although frequently misinterpreted, is not an uncommon finding in infants and children. This electrocardiographic pattern occurred approximately once among every 200 children (0.5%) referred for cardiac evaluation. Twenty-eight infants and children with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, 19 (68%) of whom were males, were arbitrarily classified into five general groups: 1) "traditional—9 cases; and those associated with 2) congenital heart disease–13 cases; 3) rheumatic heart disease–1 case; 4) familial cardiomegaiy–2 cases; and 5) disease of the central nervous system–5 cases. Only two patients were placed in more than one category. The small number in the "traditional" group (9 of 28 cases) is striking. About half of the cases studied had associated congenital heart disease, particularly Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve. A review of reported cases with the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and congenital heart disease appears to show that this syndrome may be associated with many congenital malformations of the heart, but particularly with dextrocardia and anomalies of the tricuspid valve (Ebstein's malformation and tricuspid atresia). The association of the Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome with diseases of the central nervous system and with congenital anomalies in other areas of the body is noted. Fourteen of the patients (50%) had episodes of tachycardia, and paroxysms of tachycardia were suspected in two others. Digitalis preparations have proved to be efficacious in terminating the bouts of tachycardia in children. The prognosis in those individuals without any other congenital anomaly is usually good. On the basis of this study, the authors consider that every child with this electrocardiographic pattern should be investigated for additional abnormalities.


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