Pediatric Congenital Heart Conditions There are several pediatric congenital heart conditions that can occur and it is important as practitioners that each can be recognized as not to delay treatment. This article speaks of three different types of congenital heart conditions; the presentation, exam, diagnosis, treatment, and any long term effects for the patients.
Patent Ductus Arteriosus In utero the ductus arteriosus connects the aorta and pulmonary artery. It allows blood to flow from the pulmonary artery to the aorta and out to the body without going through the lung due to the fact that the fetus gets oxygenated from the mother (Ellis, 2016). After birth this artery should close in order to prevent the mixing of arterial and venous …show more content…
Other tests that can be useful but not used for a definitive diagnosis are hemoglobin and hematocrit studies, chest x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, and electrocardiography.
Treatments
Surgical treatment is required but due to TOF being a progressive disorder the timing of the surgery may be different because of the severity of the anomaly. Currently the trend is to have the surgery before the age of one year old, in which the primary operation is usually performed under cardiopulmonary bypass and are aimed at closing the ventral septal defect, resect the area of infundibular stenosis, and relieve the right ventricular outflow obstruction (Bhimji, 2015).
Long term consequences According to Bhimji (2015), patients with TOF are surviving longer than 15-20 years after their first operation. The major complication after surgery is the development of pulmonary valve regurgitation in which they would require a pulmonary valve replacement. Most patients receive a pericardial homograft and there is no telling how long these valves will last (Bhimji, 2015). These patients also have a risk of endocarditis and will need prophylactic antibiotic for some surgical and all dental procedures for life (Bhimji,
Patent Ductus Arteriosus In utero the ductus arteriosus connects the aorta and pulmonary artery. It allows blood to flow from the pulmonary artery to the aorta and out to the body without going through the lung due to the fact that the fetus gets oxygenated from the mother (Ellis, 2016). After birth this artery should close in order to prevent the mixing of arterial and venous …show more content…
Other tests that can be useful but not used for a definitive diagnosis are hemoglobin and hematocrit studies, chest x-ray, magnetic resonance imaging, and electrocardiography.
Treatments
Surgical treatment is required but due to TOF being a progressive disorder the timing of the surgery may be different because of the severity of the anomaly. Currently the trend is to have the surgery before the age of one year old, in which the primary operation is usually performed under cardiopulmonary bypass and are aimed at closing the ventral septal defect, resect the area of infundibular stenosis, and relieve the right ventricular outflow obstruction (Bhimji, 2015).
Long term consequences According to Bhimji (2015), patients with TOF are surviving longer than 15-20 years after their first operation. The major complication after surgery is the development of pulmonary valve regurgitation in which they would require a pulmonary valve replacement. Most patients receive a pericardial homograft and there is no telling how long these valves will last (Bhimji, 2015). These patients also have a risk of endocarditis and will need prophylactic antibiotic for some surgical and all dental procedures for life (Bhimji,