Effect of Blalock Taussig shunt on clinical parameters, left ventricular function and pulmonary arteries.

• Main Authors: Kulkarni H, Rajani R, Dalvi B, Gupta K, Vora A, Kelkar P
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 1995-04-01
• Series: Journal of Postgraduate Medicine
• Subjects: Blood Flow Velocity; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation; methods; Child; Preschool; Comparative Study; Echocardiography; Female; Heart Defects; Congenital; physiopathology; surgery; ultrasonography; Human; Infant; Male; Oxygen Consumption; Polytetrafluoroethylene; Pulmonary Artery; Pulmonary Atresia; Subclavian Artery; Treatment Outcome; Ultrasonography; Doppler; Ventricular Function; Left
• Online Access: http://www.jpgmonline.com/article.asp?issn=0022-3859;year=1995;volume=41;issue=2;spage=34;epage=6;aulast=Kulkarni

Twenty children (mean age 3.25 years) with congenital cyanotic heart disease undergoing modified left Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt were studied. The mean follow-up period was 9.5 months (range 6 months to 1 year). The shunt was performed for cyanotic spells in 15 (75%) and hypoplastic pulmonary arteries in 5 (25%) patients. There were no immediate or late complications. None had cyanotic spell after the shunt. The mean arterial oxygen saturation improved from 66.47 +/- 11.9 to 76.97 +/- 8.16% (p = 0.0003) and mean hematocrit decreased from 51.55 +/- 9.5 to 46.5 +/- 9.7 (p = 0.002) after the shunt. The left atrial systolic volume and left ventricular diastolic volume also increased significantly following the shunt (from 15.82 +/- 6.37 to 20.83 +/- 8.91 ml p = 0.006 and from 36.13 +/- 16.08 to 41.08 +/- 20.07 ml (p = 0.01) respectively. There was significant growth of main, right and left pulmonary arteries and pulmonary valve annulus after the procedure.