title: Mechanical circulatory support: strategies and outcomes in pediatric congenital heart disease.
abstract: Patients with acute or progressive heart failure in the setting of congenital heart disease may need mechanical circulatory support (MCS) to enhance survival while awaiting cardiac transplantation. Because the majority of MCS devices are implanted after prior cardiac operations, special precautions are necessary at the time of implant. MCS in single ventricle patients usually requires ventricular and aortic cannulation, with a systemic to pulmonary artery shunt for pulmonary blood flow. Limited outcomes data is available, with less than 15% of pediatric MCS patients having congenital heart disease. The Berlin EXCOR is the only durable device currently available for infants. Neurologic complications are the major cause of mortality, and survival during support is poor for infants <5 kg. Patients post-Fontan with acute cardiac failure and/or respiratory failure are at high risk for death before transplant and should be considered for MCS therapy. Several emerging miniature continuous flow devices will soon broaden the landscape of available pediatric devices.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL. Electronic address: jkirklin@uab.edu.
authors.forename: James K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Kirklin
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bennett Pearce
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Dabal
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Division of Pediatric Cardiology, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL.
authors.forename: Waldemar F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Carlo
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018450:Disease Progression; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000150:complications / Q000601:surgery*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D012086:Reoperation