Congenital Heart Disease

The administration of oral antifungal agents fluconazole and itraconazole during pregnancy was not associated with an increased risk for birth defects overall, but researchers did find that it was associated with a “possible” increased risk for specific birth defects, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis published in International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics. For example, according to researchers, children born to women who used oral fluconazole during pregnancy were at a slightly increased risk for heart and limb defects. 

Breakthroughs in the detection and treatment of congenital heart defects have greatly improved the prognosis for affected children. More than 90% of infants born with congenital heart disease survive into adulthood.

Parents of children with congenital heart disease may benefit from psychosocial interventions, and these efforts may reduce the burden of parental mental health problems on child outcomes, according to results of a mixed-methods study published in The Journal of Pediatrics.

PHILADELPHIA — Udenafil in adolescents after Fontan surgery did not significantly improve oxygen consumption at peak exercise, although it did significantly improve exercise performance at the ventilatory anaerobic threshold, according to data from the FUEL trial presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

Alcohol consumption of would-be parents may be a significant risk factor for the development of congenital heart disease in their subsequent children, according to a study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology.

Researchers of a published study found that, after cardiac surgery, children with congenital heart disease had an increased risk for both ESKD and mortality.

Newborns with the congenital heart defect patent ductus arteriosus face many potential complications such as respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, necrotizing enterocolitis and HF. But closing it has been much easier said than done.

Among adolescents and adults with congenital heart disease, mental illness is a significantly more prevalent comorbidity in those who experienced at least two cardiac procedures during a 3-year period or had greater lesion complexity than in others.