Predictors of developmental outcomes in children with complete transposition

Cognitive, functional, educational achievement and behavioural measures were employed to assess neurobehavioral status in 57 of 60 participants who were initially enrolled in the Baltimore-Washington Infant Study, and who survived surgical correction of complete transposition (concordant atrioventricular and discordant ventriculo-arterial connections). Charts were reviewed to investigate the relationship between birth variables, surgical strategy and developmental outcomes. Higher preoperative weight was associated with better outcomes on the Stanford-Binet Short-term Memory subtest, while lower preoperative oxygen tension was associated with better outcomes on the Abstract/Visual Reasoning subtest and a test of Visual-Motor Integration. Longer total bypass time was associated with poor outcomes on the Short-term Memory subtests. Higher average flow rates during cooling and rewarming were associated with higher scores in the test of short term memory but poorer outcomes on a test for visual motor integration. Longer cooling times were associated with higher scores on the test for Visual-Motor Integration. Patients suffering seizures scored lower on the Stanford-Binet Composite, as well as in their tests of achievement. The data indicate that non-verbal skills may be particularly sensitive to variations in surgical strategies employed to correct complete transposition. Overt neurological events, such as seizures, were related to global deficits in intellectual functioning. Prospective studies evaluating systemic variations in surgical procedures and attempts to prevent and manage perioperative neurological events are important for further investigation of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children surviving surgical correction.