Individualised perioperative brain growth in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD): correlation with clinical risk factors

Infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk of neurodevelopmental impairments, which may be associated with impaired brain growth. We mapped brain volumes from pre- and postoperative brain MRI in 36 infants with CHD undergoing cardiac surgery or intervention to normative curves derived from 219 healthy infants. Perioperative brain growth was impaired, and was associated with clinical and surgical risk factors, including higher preoperative serum creatinine levels, older postnatal age at surgery, longer cardiopulmonary bypass duration and longer postoperative intensive care stay. Brainstem and deep grey matter growth appear particularly vulnerable to clinical factors.