Intensive care and perioperative management of neonates with functionally univentricular hearts

Although mortality rates for patients with univentricular hearts continue to fall, the course in the intensive care unit is remarkable for significant morbidity and utilization of significant resources. Preoperative patient management focuses on balancing competing circulations, pulmonary and systemic, which exist in parallel rather than in series, as in the normal circulation. Postoperative patient management focuses on optimizing systemic output, respiratory status, and mitigating the effects of cardiopulmonary bypass. In this article, we review pre- and postoperative intensive care management in neonates with a univentricular heart.