Palliative Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Stenting in Tetralogy of Fallot with Severe Cyanosis: Experience from a Single Center in Southern India

Abstract

Background: This study conducted at an Indian tertiary care hospital aimed to characterize the clinical profile of tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) patients undergoing right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) stenting and assess their immediate postprocedural outcomes until discharge. Methods: In this retrospective analysis, the clinical and procedural outcomes were analyzed for 20 patients who underwent palliative stenting in the RVOT for severe cyanosis associated with ToF during 2021–2023. Results: The median age for the patients was 2.3 years (range 3 months–21 years), two being adults (>18 years). Fourteen (70%) patients underwent elective RVOT stent and 30% underwent emergency stenting. The most common indication of RVOT stenting was hypoplastic branch pulmonary arteries (PAs) (n = 11, 78.6%) and cyanotic spell (n = 4, 66.7%) for elective and emergency surgeries, respectively. The average improvement in SpO2 was 27.2% (95% confidence interval 23.4–31.0, P < 0.001). Six (30%) patients had complications including reperfusion injury of lungs (n = 2, 33.4%) sepsis (n = 1, 16.7%), stent embolization (n = 1, 16.7%), re-stenting (n = 1, 16.7%), transient complete heart block (n = 1, 16.7%) during the procedure, and. One child went through RVOT stent postoperative due to severe residual stenosis and child developed severe tricuspid regurgitation and succumbed to death due to culture positive sepsis with multi-organ dysfunction. Rest (n = 19, 95%) were discharged with an average 6.7 days of hospital stay. Conclusion: ROVT stenting is a safe and effective palliative management in ToF enhancing oxygen saturation prior to definitive surgical repair.

Keywords

• cyanosis
• fallot’s tetralogy
• reperfusion injury
• right ventricular outflow obstruction
• stents