Acute B-type natriuretic peptide response and early postoperative right ventricular physiology following tetralogy of Fallot's repair

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) response early after a tetralogy of Fallot's repair remains unclear. BNP was measured pre- and post-operatively (immediately, day 1) in 18 children undergoing corrective repair with concurrent echocardiography (pre-, post-op day 1) to assess right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction, restrictive physiology, wall motion and pulmonary regurgitation (PR). In the first 24 h postoperatively, BNP rose acutely in all patients (mean 34.9 vs 144.4 vs 716.9 pg/ml at pre-op, days 0 and 1; P < 0.001). Immediate postoperative BNP correlated with preoperative haematocrit (rho = 0.52, P = 0.03) and inversely with preoperative oxygen saturation (rho = -0.63, P = 0.007). All patients showed reduced RV systolic function and abnormal wall motion with at least moderate PR in six patients (33.3%) and restrictive physiology in four (24%). Subsequent BNP expression (post-op day 1) correlated with a low RV fractional area change (rho = -0.51, P = 0.04), high oxygen extraction ratio (rho = 0.56, P = 0.02) and high central venous pressure (rho = 0.79, P < 0.001). The LV function and wall motion remained preserved in all patients. The mechanism of BNP expression is likely to be multi-factorial in the presence of a complex postoperative RV physiology in tetralogy of Fallot. An acute BNP response in the early postoperative period reflects an important physiological role and may be used as an adjunct biomarker to assess the RV function.