The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · May 2024
Practice GuidelineThe American Association for Thoracic Surgery 2023 Expert Consensus Document: Recommendation for the care of children with trisomy 13 or trisomy 18 and a congenital heart defect.
Recommendations for surgical repair of a congenital heart defect in children with trisomy 13 or trisomy 18 remain controversial, are subject to biases, and are largely unsupported with limited empirical data. This has created significant distrust and uncertainty among parents and could potentially lead to suboptimal care for patients. A working group, representing several clinical specialties involved with the care of these children, developed recommendations to assist in the decision-making process for congenital heart defect care in this population. The goal of these recommendations is to provide families and their health care teams with a framework for clinical decision making based on the literature and expert opinions. ⋯ This is the first set of recommendations collated by an expert multidisciplinary group to address specific issues around indications for surgical intervention in children with trisomy 13 or trisomy 18 with congenital heart defect. Based on our analysis of recent data, we recommend that decisions should not be based solely on the presence of trisomy but, instead, should be made on a case-by-case basis, considering both the severity of the baby's heart disease as well as the presence of other anomalies. These recommendations offer a framework to assist parents and clinicians in surgical decision making for children who have trisomy 13 or trisomy 18 with congenital heart defect.