Immediate and Intermediate Outcomes of Balloon Angioplasty in Neonatal Type Coarctation of Aorta in Sulaimani Cardiac Center

Abstract

Background and objectives: Coarctation of aorta is the fourth most prevalent heart disease in infants requiring catheterization and surgery during the first year of life. Unfortunately the initial clinical manifestations in infants are non-specific and mainly consist of tachypnea, poor feeding and failure to thrive which result in delays in the correct diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. The aim of the study was to assess the immediate and intermediate outcome of balloon angioplasty in neonatal type coarctation of aorta. Methods: It is a case series study of 13 young infants with neonatal coarctation of aorta their ages were between 10 days to 18 months and were admitted to intensive care unit of pediatric teaching hospital and Shar hospital neonatal care unit in Sulaimani. Balloon angioplasty was done for them in Sulaimani cardiac center between February2014 to October2017. Results: Balloon angioplasty was done for 13 young infants with good result in 10/13 cases without any complication. There was significant mean pressure gradient changes before and after the procedure (48 ± 18.57mmHg and 28.15 ±16.12mmHg, respectively). The complications of balloon angioplasty were divided in to immediate complications which occurred within 24h post angioplastic procedure and included peripheral cyanosis1case (7.7%), small aneurysm formation 1 case(7.7%), and intermediate complications which occurred within 6 month of the angioplasty showed repeated dilatation of coarctation in 1 case (7.7%), while in 10 cases (76.9%) there were no any complications. Conclusions: Balloon angioplasty is a safe and effective treatment option in infants with coarctation of aorta; however, timely diagnosis and improvement in angioplasty techniques are necessary to improve the outcome.

Keywords

• Coarctation of aorta
• Balloon angioplasty
• Infant