title: Prevalence of T-lymphocyte abnormalities in infants with congenital heart disease.
abstract: Thirty-two infants younger than 6 months with catheterization-proved congenital heart disease were prospectively examined for T-lymphocyte immunodeficiency (compared with adult and normal newborn controls). Cardiac lesions were separated into two groups: (1) "high-risk" lesions previously associated with T-cell abnormalities in DiGeorge's syndrome, and (2) the remaining "low-risk" lesions. Cardiac patients as a whole did not have significant abnormalities in T-cell rosette (TCR) percentages (mean +/- SE, 50.0% +/- 22%) or response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (72,243 +/- 38,388 counts per minute). However, a greater percentage of patients with high-risk cardiac lesions had abnormal TCR and PHA results than either the control or low-risk group, due to the inclusion of three infants with DiGeorge's syndrome. These findings suggest that newborn infants without evidence of DiGeorge's syndrome have normal T-lymphocyte function. Infants with high-risk cardiac lesions deserve a careful immunologic evaluation to avoid significant morbidity and mortality.
mesh_terms: D006328:Cardiac Catheterization; D004062:DiGeorge Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007153:Immunologic Deficiency Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012397:Rosette Formation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000002:abnormalities*