Objective To evaluate the impact of an integrated management mode of prenatal diagnosis-postnatal treatment for congenital heart disease (CHD) on perioperative and long-term outcomes of the arterial switch operation (ASO), and to analyze the efficacy of ASO over six years in a single center. Methods This retrospective study analyzed the clinical data of 183 children who underwent ASO at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from January 2018 to December 2024. The cohort included 106 patients (57.9%) of transposition of the great arteries with intact ventricular septum (TGA/IVS), 61 patients (33.3%) of transposition of the great arteries with ventricular septal defect (TGA/VSD), and 16 patients (8.7%) of taussig-bing anomaly (TBA). Perioperative indicators were compared between 91 patients in the prenatal-postnatal integrated management group (an integrated group) and 92 patients in the traditional management group (a non-integrated group). Long-term survival and reoperation rates were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results The overall perioperative mortality rate was 4.9% (9/183), showing a downward trend year by year. The primary cause of perioperative mortality was low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS), which occurred in 12 patients (6.6% incidence) with a mortality rate of 75%. The integrated group had a higher proportion of males (89% vs. 72.8%, P<0.05) and lower body weight [3.13 (2.75, 3.35) vs. 3.30 (3.00, 3.67), P<0.05] compared to the non-integrated group. The age at surgery was significantly earlier in the integrated group [7 (3, 10) vs. 14 (9, 48), P<0.05], and all children in the Integrated Group underwent ASO within the optimal surgical window (100% vs. 82.6%, P<0.05). Intraoperatively, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time [173 (150, 207) vs. 186 (159, 237), P<0.05] and aortic cross-clamp (ACC) time [100 (90, 117) vs. 116 (97, 142), P<0.05] were significantly shorter in the integrated group. although the integrated group had longer postoperative mechanical ventilation time [145 (98, 214) vs. 116 (77, 147), P<0.05] and higher 48-hour maximum vasoactive inotropic score (VISmax) [15 (10, 21) vs. 12 (8, 16), P<0.05], there was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of severe complications (LCOS, NEC, ECMO) or mortality rate (3.3% vs. 6.5%, P=0.51) between the two groups, despite earlier surgical intervention and a higher proportion of critically ill cases in the integrated group. The length of hospital stay in the emergency surgery group was significantly shorter than that in the elective surgery group [20 (15, 28) vs. 25 (21, 30), P<0.05], suggesting that early surgery may be of potential benefit. A total of 163 patients were successfully followed up for a median of 4.7 years, with a 5-year survival rate of 95.1% and a freedom from reintervention survival rate of 95.1%. There were no late deaths, and the most common postoperative complication was pulmonary artery stenosis. Conclusion The integrated management model allowed critically ill children with lower body weights to safely undergo surgery, significantly optimizing the timing of surgery and shortening intraoperative times. The long-term risk of reoperation after ASO is primarily concentrated on pulmonary artery stenosis, necessitating long-term follow-up and monitoring.
ObjectiveTo compare and analyze the effect of myocardial protection between HTK and del Nido cardioplegia solutions in neonates with surgeries for transposition of the great arteries. MethodsThe clinical data of 208 neonates with complete transposition of the great arteries in our institution from 2014 to 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. According to the cardioplegia solutions utilized in the operations, the patients were divided into two groups: a HTK group and a del Nido group. Propensity score matching was conducted to eliminate the biases. The cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamping time, total amount of cardioplegia solutions, transfusion frequency of cardioplegia, ICU stay time, mechanical support time, inotropic score, hospital stay, left ventricular ejection fraction, N-terminal proBNP and troponin I were compared and analyzed between the two groups after matching. ResultsAfter 1:1 propensity score matching, a total of 54 patients were analyzed with 27 patients in each group. In the HTK group, there were 22 males and 5 females with a median age of 7.0 (2.0, 11.0) d. In the del Nido group, there were 23 males and 4 females with a median age of 8.0 (3.0, 11.0) d. A total of 3 children died after the surgery: 2 (7.4%) patients in the HTK group and 1 (3.7%) patient in the del Nido group. There was no significant difference in hospital mortality between the two groups (P=1.000). The total amount of cardioplegia solutions in the HTK group was significantly higher than that of del Nido group (P<0.001). Transfusion frequency of cardioplegia in del Nido group was significantly higher than that of the HTK group (P=0.043). There was no significant difference in the postoperative ICU time, mechanical support time, length of hospital stay, inotropic score, left ventricular ejection fraction, N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide precursor or troponin I between the two groups (P>0.05). ConclusionFor neonates with surgeries for complete transposition of the great arteries, HTK cardioplegia solutions can provide effective and safe myocardial protection, which is similar to del Nido cardioplegia solutions.