Pediatrics & Therapeutics
Open Access
ISSN: 2161-0665
+44 1478 350008
ISSN: 2161-0665
+44 1478 350008
Minal Menezes
University of Sydney, Australia
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Pediatr Ther
A significant number of babies with congenital heart disease are cyanosed at birth. Despite being cyanosed, the majority of these babies survive and remain relatively well in their early life. These babies can continue to grow and develop for variable periods of time without major intervention. Because immediate surgical correction is not always possible, some babies will be cyanosed for up to several years before complete correction is possible. It is clear that these babies adapt to chronic hypoxaemia in ways that still allow the tissues to receive sufficient oxygen for survival and growth. This adaptation process is not fully understood, though some recent evidence has emerged that cyanotic babies adapt through peripheral vasodilation. Peripheral vasodilation is possibly one of the most important adaptations to chronic hypoxaemia however, the exact mechanism is largely unknown. Studies in adults who have adapted to living at high altitudes (i.e. with low oxygen levels) suggest that an alteration in the way the body deals with nitrogen species is at the centre of peripheral vasodilation. This study will explore the mechanism by which cyanosed babies have adapted to low oxygen levels by measuring nitrogen species (nitrates, nitrites and nitric oxide) and the degree of vasodilation by quanitfying microvascular perfusion in babies awaiting corrective surgery. A greater understanding of the mechanisms may allow the identification of babies who fail to make appropriate adaptive changes. It may allow early targeted intervention during peri-operative care and a more rational use of drugs such as NO in the peri-operative setting.