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Cardiopulmonary bypass to repair an atrial septal defect does not affect cognitive function in children

Peter L Stavinoha1, David E Fixler, Lynn Mahony

  • 1CMC-Cardiology, 1935 Motor St, Dallas, TX 75235-7701. Lynn.Mahony@UTSouthwestern.edu

Circulation
|May 14, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Children undergoing atrial septal defect (ASD) repair without cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) showed no significant changes in neurocognitive function. Cognitive abilities remained stable before and after surgical intervention in this healthy pediatric group.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Cardiology
  • Neuropsychology
  • Congenital Heart Disease

Background:

  • Assessing neurocognitive function in children with congenital heart defects undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is challenging due to the lack of suitable control groups.
  • Children with congenital cardiovascular malformations often present unique neurodevelopmental considerations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate neurocognitive function changes in children before and after surgical repair of an atrial septal defect (ASD).
  • To determine if cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) impacts cognitive function in pediatric patients undergoing ASD repair.

Main Methods:

  • Neurocognitive function was assessed in 18 children (aged 3-17 years) using the Differential Ability Scales.
  • Testing was conducted pre-operatively (median 3 days prior) and post-operatively (median 5.8 months after) ASD repair.
  • General Conceptual Ability (GCA) scores, analogous to IQ, were analyzed.

Main Results:

  • All subjects were healthy with no activity limitations.
  • Mean GCA scores were within the normal range both before and after ASD repair.
  • No statistically significant difference was observed in GCA scores between pre-operative and post-operative assessments (90.8+/-18.6 vs. 93.1+/-16.3).

Conclusions:

  • Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was not associated with demonstrable changes in cognitive function in children undergoing atrial septal defect (ASD) repair.
  • Cognitive abilities remained stable in this cohort of pediatric patients following ASD surgical repair.
Abstract

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