ORIGINAL PAPER
Prevalence of hepatic dysfunction in paediatric patients with Fontan circulation
More details
Hide details
1
Cairo University Children’s Hospital, Cairo, Egypt
2
Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology, El-Fayoum Health Insurance Hospital, General Authority for Health Insurance, El-Fayoum, Egypt
3
Endemic Medicine and Hepatology Department, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
Submission date: 2023-11-15
Final revision date: 2024-01-15
Acceptance date: 2024-01-15
Publication date: 2024-05-24
Corresponding author
Asmaa Hassan Taha
Asmaa Hassan Taha, Department of Paediatrics and Neonatology, El-Fayoum Health Insurance Hospital, General Authority for Health Insurance, El Hadika, Ahmed Helmy Marzouk St., El-Fayoum, Egypt
Pediatr Pol 2024;99(2):105-110
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Hepatic dysfunction is a well-known complication and is frequently referred to as Fontan-associated liver disease. The aim of the study is to assess liver dysfunction in children and adolescents with Fontan circulation.
Material and methods:
The study was an observational analytical study conducted on 30 patients who underwent Fontan operation more than 2 years before inclusion in the study and who were followed up at the Paediatric Cardiology Unit, Cairo University Children’s Hospital. All patients were subjected to echocardiography, laboratory investigations, abdominal ultrasound, and liver elastography.
Results:
The median patient age was 13 years (inter-quartile range [IQR] 10–16.32), and the median follow-up duration after the Fontan operation was 5 years (IQR 3.83–9). Global longitudinal strain was lower in 26 (86.7%), and the single ventricle ejection fraction was reduced in 23 (76.7%); however, no correlation was found with time interval since Fontan. None of the patients had ascites clinically or by ultrasound examination. Gamma-glutamyl transferase was elevated in 28 (93.33%), which was significantly higher in the systemic right ventricle group. Abdominal ultrasound revealed periportal enhancement in 6 (20%), which was significantly higher in the hepatitis C virus exposed group (p = 0.006). Superior mesenteric artery resistance index was decreased in 27 (90%), which was significantly lower in the systemic left ventricle group (p = 0.01). The liver stiffness values did not correlate with time interval since Fontan (p = 0.09).
Conclusions:
Liver disease is prevalent in Fontan patients. Non-invasive measures such as laboratory tests, ultrasound, and elastography should be implemented with consideration for hepatology consultation. Fontan-associated liver disease screening is important in the monitoring of Fontan patients.
REFERENCES (27)
1.
Greenway SC, Crossland DS, Hudson M, et al. Fontan-associated liver disease: Implications for heart transplantation. J Heart Lung Transplant 2015; 35: 26-33.
2.
Diamond T, Ovchinsky N. Fontan-associated liver disease: monitoring progression of liver fibrosis. Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken) 2018; 11: 1-5.
3.
Emamaullee J, Zaidi AN, Schiano T, et al. Fontan-associated liver disease. Screening, management, and transplant consideration. Circulation. 2020; 142: 591-604.
4.
Ackerman T, Geerts A, Vlierberghe VH, et al. Hepatic changes in the Fontan circulation: identification of liver dysfunction and an attempt to streamline follow-up screening. Pediatr Cardiol 2018; 39: 1604-1613.
5.
Buber J, Schwaegler RJ, Dray EM. Echocardiographic evaluation of univentricular physiology and cavopulmonary shunts. Echocardiography 2019; 36: 1381-1390.
6.
Stout KK, Daniels CJ, Aboulhosn JA, et al. 2018 AHA/ACC guideline for the management of adults with congenital heart disease: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on clinical practice guidelines. Cir 2019; 139: e698-e800.
7.
Nagueh SFSO, Appleton CP, Byrd BF, et al. Recommendations for the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function by echocardiography: an update from the American Society of Echocardiography and the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2016; 29: 277-314.
8.
Gajjar R, JalazoE .Hematolgy. In: Engorn B, Flerlage J (eds). The Harriet Lane handbook. Elsevier Saunders, Philadelphia 2015, 306.
9.
Yoo BW, Choi JY, Eun LY, et al. Congestive hepatopathy after Fontan operation and related factors assessed by transient elastography. J Thorac Cardio Vasc Surg 2014; 148: 1498-1505.
10.
Dyba PM, Potoczny J, Waszak T, et al. Application of bidimensional shear wave liver elastography in the pediatric population. Pediatr Pol 2023; 98: 216-222.
11.
Grimm J, Shah A, Magruder J, et al. MELD-XI score predicts early mortality in patients after heart transplantation. Ann Thorac Surg 2015; 100: 1737-1743.
12.
Vallet-Pichard A, Mallet V, Nalpas B, et al. FIB-4: an inexpensive and accurate marker of fibrosis in HCV infection. Comparison with liver biopsy and FibroTest. Hepatology 2007; 46: 32-36.
13.
DiPaola FW, Schumacher KR, Goldberg CS, et al. Effect of Fontan operation on liver stiffness in children with single ventricle physiology. Eur Radiol 2017; 27: 2434-2442.
14.
Kutty SS, Peng Q, Danford DA, et al. Increased hepatic stiffness as consequence of high hepatic afterload in the Fontan circulation: a vascular Doppler and elastography study. Hepatology 2014; 59: 251-260.
15.
Chen B, Schreiber RA, Human DG, et al. Assessment of liver stiffness in pediatric Fontan patients using transient elastography. Can J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 2016: 7125193.
16.
Rathgeber SL, Guttman OR, Lee AF, et al. Fontan-associated liver disease: spectrum of disease in children and adolescents. J Am Heart Assoc 2020; 9: e012529.
17.
Schleiger A, Salzmann M, Kramer P, et al. Severity of Fontan-associated liver disease correlates with Fontan hemodynamics. Pediatr Cardiol 2020; 41: 736-746.
18.
Arya A, Azad S, Radhakrishnan S. Fontan associated liver disease: is elastography useful? Prog Ped Cardiol 2020; 57: 101199.
19.
Ofei SY, Texter K, Gariepy C, et al. Pediatric Fontan associated liver disease: non-invasive evaluation with serologic markers and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography. Prog Pediatr Cardiol 2019; 53: 21-27.
20.
Surrey LF, Russo P, Rychik J, et al. Prevalence and characterization of fibrosis in surveillance liver biopsies of patients with Fontan circulation. Hum Pathol 2016; 57: 106-115.
21.
Schwartz MC, Glatz AC, Daniels K, et al. Hepatic abnormalities are present before and early after the Fontan operation. Ann Thorac Surg 2015; 100: 2298-2304.
22.
Kaulitz R, Haber P, Sturm E, et al. Serial evaluation of hepatic function profile after Fontan operation. Herz 2014; 39: 98-104.
23.
Mori M, Jokhadar M, Shioda K, et al. Reduced hepatic venous flow is a marker of adverse outcomes in patients with Fontan circulation. J Am Coll Cardiol 2014; 63: A566.
24.
Rios R, Ginde S, Saudek D, et al. Quantitative echocardiographic measures in the assessment of single ventricle function post-Fontan: Incorporation into routine clinical practice. Echocardiography 2017; 34: 108-115.
25.
Margossian R, Sleeper LA, Pearson GD, et al. Assessment of diastolic function in single-ventricle patients after the Fontan procedure. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 2016; 29: 1066-1073.
26.
Hu L, Sun A, Guo C, et al. Assessment of global and regional strain left ventricular in patients with preserved ejection fraction after Fontan operation using a tissue tracking technique. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2019; 35: 153-160.
27.
Moiduddin N, Texter KM, Zaidi AN, et al. Two-dimensional speckle strain and dyssynchrony in single left ventricles vs. normal left ventricles. Congenit Heart Dis 2010; 5: 579-586.