Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 7, 2026
Establishment and Confirmation of a Postnatal Right Ventricular Volume Overload Mouse Model
Published on: June 9, 2023
Intermediate neurodevelopmental outcome after repair of ventricular septal defect
Julie S Simons1, Rochelle Glidden, David Sheslow
1Nemours Cardiac Center, A. I. duPont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, Delaware 19803, USA. jsimons@nemours.org
Insights
Children repaired for ventricular septal defects show normal IQs but mild weaknesses in visual-motor and memory skills. These findings suggest potential areas for targeted support post-surgery.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Neurodevelopmental Pediatrics
- Congenital Heart Disease Research
Background:
- Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) face risks of impaired neurodevelopment.
- Ventricular septal defects (VSDs) are common CHDs, yet specific neurodevelopmental outcomes post-repair are understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess intermediate neurodevelopmental outcomes in children following surgical repair of ventricular septal defects.
Main Methods:
- Evaluated 31 children using standardized IQ, memory, visual-motor, and academic achievement tests.
- Utilized parent and teacher reports for behavioral and psychosocial functioning assessment.
- Stratified patients into younger (<6 years) and older (≥6 years) age groups.
Main Results:
- Full-scale IQ scores were within the normal range for all participants.
- The younger cohort showed lower performance IQ scores compared to norms (p=0.023).
- The older cohort exhibited lower visual memory scores (p=0.003), and the entire cohort showed deficits in visual-motor ability (p<0.001) and adaptive behavior (p=0.050).
Conclusions:
- Post-VSD repair, children generally function within normal neurodevelopmental ranges.
- Observed weaknesses predominantly involve visual cognitive abilities, not verbal skills.
- Identified mild weaknesses, generally within one standard deviation of population means, indicating no significant impairments.
Background:
Children with congenital heart disease are at risk for impaired neurodevelopmental outcome. Despite the high prevalence of ventricular septal defects relative to other cardiac defects, few studies have specifically examined this population. The purpose of this study was to provide data on the intermediate neurodevelopmental outcome for children after repair of a ventricular septal defect.
Methods:
Neurodevelopmental outcome was assessed for 31 children using standardized tests of IQ, memory, visual-motor ability, and academic achievement. Standardized parent and teacher reports of behavioral and psychosocial functioning were also examined. Patients were grouped into younger (less than 6 years old; n = 18) and older (6 years and older; n = 13) cohorts.
Results:
Full-scale IQ scores were within the normal range. Although most other domains of neurodevelopmental and behavioral functioning were comparable to normative data, patient functioning was lower than population norms in the areas of performance IQ for the younger cohort (90.6 ± 16.1; p = 0.023), visual memory for the older cohort (84.5 ± 15.3; p = 0.003), and visual-motor ability (87.9 ± 14.2; p < 0.001) and adaptive behavior (94.3 ± 15.3; p = 0.050) for the entire cohort.
Conclusions:
After repair of ventricular septal defects, children function within the normal range in most areas. Three of the four domains in which lower functioning was observed tap into visual cognitive abilities rather than verbal abilities. Lower mean scores in these areas were, however, generally within one standard deviation of the population mean, suggesting mild weaknesses rather than significant impairments.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Mitral Stenosis I: Introduction
01:23Mitral Stenosis II: Clinical features and Diagnostic Tests
01:20Mitral Regurgitation I: Introduction