title: Outcomes after the stage I reconstruction comparing the right ventricular to pulmonary artery conduit with the modified Blalock Taussig shunt.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent reports advocate that a right ventricular to pulmonary artery (RV-PA) conduit improves outcome after the stage I reconstruction.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively compared the outcomes of all neonates who underwent a stage I reconstruction between January 1, 2002, and October 1, 2004, with use of the RV-PA conduit and modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (mBTS) interspersed over this time period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, 149 infants underwent a stage I reconstruction (95 mBTS, 54 RV-PA) for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) or variants. There was a preference for the RV-PA conduit in patients with aortic atresia (mBTS 30% versus RV-PA 67%, p < 0.01). There was no difference in surgical mortality (mBTS 14% versus RV-PA 17%, p = 0.67), time to extubation (mBTS 4.5 +/- 4.8 days versus RV-PA 3.9 +/- 3.5 days, p = 0.47), or length of hospital stay (mBTS 25 +/- 29 days versus RV-PA 21 +/- 23 days, p = 0.52). There was an increased incidence of shunt reinterventions in the patients with the RV-PA conduit (mBTS 17% versus RV-PA 32%, p = 0.04). Patients with RV-PA conduit returned earlier for stage II reconstruction (mBTS 6.5 +/- 2.5 months versus RV-PA 5.6 +/- 1.7 months, p = 0.05). There was no difference in overall mortality (mBTS 32% versus RV-PA 30%, p = 0.45) with a median duration of follow-up of 18 +/- 8 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Comparing shunt strategies (mBTS versus RV-PA) over the same time period, we found no difference in outcome. These data support the need for a larger prospective, randomized trial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. tabbutt@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tabbutt
authors.forename: Troy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Dominguez
authors.forename: Chitra
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ravishankar
authors.forename: Bradley S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.forename: Gil
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wernovsky
authors.forename: J William
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Gaynor
authors.forename: Susan C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Nicolson
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Spray
mesh_terms: D001166:Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical; D006801:Humans; D018636:Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome / Q000401:mortality / Q000601:surgery*; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis