Tricuspid Atresia

Infants with decreased pulmonary blood flow usually have mild-to-moderate cyanosis at birth, which increases, sometimes dramatically, over the first several months of life. Infants with increased pulmonary blood flow usually show signs of heart failure (eg, tachypnea, dyspnea with feeding, poor weight gain, diaphoresis) by age 4 to 6 weeks.

Physical examination usually detects a single prominent first heart sound (S1), a single second heart sound (S2) in patients with marked pulmonic valve stenosis or transposed great vessels, and a grade 2 to 3/6 holosystolic or early systolic murmur of a VSD at the lower left sternal border (see table ). A systolic ejection murmur of pulmonic stenosis or a continuous murmur of patent ductus arteriosus may be present at the upper left sternal border. A systolic thrill is rarely palpable. An apical diastolic rumble may be audible if pulmonary blood flow is markedly increased. Cyanosis, when present for > 6 months, may result in finger clubbing.

Diagnosis of tricuspid atresia is suspected clinically, supported by chest x-ray and ECG, and established by 2-dimensional echocardiography with color flow and Doppler studies.

In the most common form, chest x-ray shows normal or slightly increased heart size, right atrial enlargement, and decreased pulmonary vascular markings. Occasionally, the cardiac silhouette resembles that of tetralogy of Fallot Tetralogy of Fallot Tetralogy of Fallot consists of 4 features: a large ventricular septal defect, right ventricular outflow tract obstruction and pulmonic valve stenosis, right ventricular hypertrophy, and over-riding... read more (with a boot-shaped heart and concave pulmonary artery segment). Pulmonary vascular markings may be increased and cardiomegaly may be present in infants with associated transposition of the great arteries Transposition of the Great Arteries (TGA) Transposition of the great arteries (in this case, dextro-transposition) occurs when the aorta arises directly from the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery arises from the left ventricle... read more . ECG characteristically shows left axis deviation (between 0° and −90°) and left ventricular hypertrophy. Left axis deviation is not usually present if there is associated transposition of the great arteries. Right atrial or combined atrial enlargement is also common.

Cardiac catheterization may be useful (particularly in older children) before the first palliative procedure to define hemodynamics and pulmonary artery anatomy.

Most neonates with tricuspid atresia, although cyanotic, are well compensated in the first several weeks of life. In severely cyanotic neonates, prostaglandin E1 (beginning at 0.05 to 0.1 mcg/kg/minute IV) is infused to prevent closure of the ductus arteriosus or to reopen the constricted ductus before cardiac catheterization or surgical repair.

Rarely, when the patent foramen ovale/atrial septal defect is restrictive, balloon atrial septostomy (Rashkind procedure) may be done as part of the initial catheterization to decompress the right atrium and facilitate unrestricted right-to-left atrial shunting. In the balloon atrial septostomy, a balloon-tipped catheter is advanced into the left atrium through the patent foramen ovale. The balloon is inflated and abruptly withdrawn to the right atrium thereby enlarging the opening in the atrial septum. The procedure immediately improves systemic arterial oxygen saturation.

Some infants with transposition of the great arteries and signs of heart failure require medical treatment Heart failure in older infants and children Congenital heart disease is the most common congenital anomaly, occurring in almost 1% of live births ( 1). Among birth defects, congenital heart disease is the leading cause of infant mortality... read more (eg, diuretics, digoxin, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors).

Definitive repair requires staged operations. If intervention is needed for hypoxemia within the first 4 to 8 weeks of life, a modified Blalock-Taussig-Thomas shunt (connection of a systemic and a pulmonary artery by a synthetic tube) is done.

In infants with excess pulmonary blood flow and signs of heart failure, a pulmonary artery band may be placed to limit pulmonary blood flow. Otherwise, if the infant remains stable with good growth, the first procedure would be a bidirectional Glenn or a hemi-Fontan procedure (anastomosis between the superior vena cava and right pulmonary artery) at 3 to 6 months of age. A modified Fontan procedure is then done, usually between 1 year and 2 years.

The Fontan procedure involves diverting the inferior vena cava flow directly to the pulmonary artery using either a baffle created within the right atrium (lateral tunnel) or an extracardiac conduit that completely bypasses the right atrium. The proximal pulmonary root is ligated, which prevents anterograde flow across the pulmonary outflow tract, and an adequate interatrial opening is created, if not already present, to allow equalization of right and left atrial pressures and free communication between these chambers. A fenestration (small opening) is frequently made between the Fontan pathway and the right atrium. Right-to-left shunting from the Fontan pathway to the atria and left ventricle allows decompression of the systemic venous pressure and improvement in cardiac output, albeit at the expense of mild arterial desaturation. This approach has increased early survival rates to > 90%, 5-year survival rates to > 80%, and 10-year survival rates to >70%.

Endocarditis prophylaxis Prevention Infective endocarditis is infection of the endocardium, usually with bacteria (commonly, streptococci or staphylococci) or fungi. It may cause fever, heart murmurs, petechiae, anemia, embolic... read more is recommended preoperatively and for at least 6 months after each surgical intervention and for as long as the patient remains cyanotic or has a residual defect adjacent to a surgical patch or prosthetic material.

The following English-language resources may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of these resources.