ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Norwood procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: BT shunt or RV-PA conduit?

Linda Edwards¹, Kevin P Morris¹, Ameen Siddiqui¹, Deborah Harrington², David Barron², William Brawn²

¹ Department of Paediatric Intensive Care, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom
² Department of Cardiac Surgery, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, Birmingham, United Kingdom

Correspondence to:
Dr. Kevin P Morris
Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Trust, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham, B4 6NH, United Kingdom; kevin.morris{at}bch.nhs.uk

Background: The Norwood procedure is the first stage palliative procedure for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Traditionally the pulmonary circulation has been supplied via a modified Blalock Taussig (BT) shunt but a recent modification, adopted in some UK centres, substitutes a conduit between right ventricle and pulmonary arteries (RV-PA conduit). It is argued that this will result in a more favourable balance between pulmonary and systemic circulations.

Aim: To compare the early postoperative haemodynamic profile between patients undergoing a BT shunt or an RV-PA conduit.

Methods: Retrospective review in a tertiary referral PICU of 51 children with HLHS undergoing the Norwood procedure with either a BT shunt (Group 1; n = 23) or an RV-PA conduit (Group 2; n = 28). Data items were extracted at 10 set time points in the initial 96 h, postoperatively.

Results: Diastolic BP was significantly lower in Group 1 (p<0.001) with a trend towards a higher systolic BP and no difference in mean BP. No between-group differences were found in markers of pulmonary blood flow (PaO₂, PaCO₂, PaO₂/FiO₂ ratio), or in markers of systemic blood flow (blood lactate, oxygen extraction ratio), or in estimated ratio of pulmonary:systemic blood flow (Qp:Qs). Despite lower diastolic blood pressure in Group 1 renal and hepatic function did not differ over five post-operative days between groups.

Conclusions: With the exception of a higher diastolic blood pressure in the RV-PA conduit group, we found no difference in the early haemodynamic profile between patients undergoing an RV-PA conduit or a BT shunt.

Abbreviations: BT, Blalock Taussig; CPB, cardiopulmonary bypass; CVP, central venous pressure; DHCA, deep hypothermic circulatory arrest; ETCO₂, end-tidal carbon dioxide; HLHS, hypoplastic left heart syndrome; OE, oxygen extraction; PaO₂, arterial partial pressure of oxygen; PaCO₂, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide; PRVC, Pressure Regulated Volume Control; Qp:Qs, pulmonary:systemic blood flow; RV-PA, right ventricle to pulmonary artery; SaO₂, arterial oxygen saturation; SvO₂, venous oxygen saturation

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