Active clinical trials for "Heart Defects, Congenital"

Non-randomized, multi-center, prospective surveillance study to investigate and assess the residual risks, and to confirm the currently established safety and performance of the Melody TPV PB1016.

The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy and appropriate dose of iloprost for inhalation in the treatment of postoperative pulmonary hypertension in children with congenital heart defects.

Mechanisms that typically result in increased cardiac output, such as inotropic support, increased heart rate, and decreased afterload, have a blunted effect in Fontan circulation. The "thoracic pump" is a contributor to venous return that has been largely unexplored in patients with Fontan physiology. Inspiratory muscle training can improve the performance of competitive athletes across a range of sports and can improve quality of life and functional capacity in heart failure patients, presumably by reducing inspiratory muscle fatigue and possibly by improving peripheral blood flow during exercise. One could surmise that the effects of these changes would be particularly important in the Fontan population. The investigators propose to study the effects of inspiratory muscle training on exercise and pulmonary function parameters in a cohort of adult Fontan patients. The investigators hypothesize that a 12-week program of inspiratory muscle training with an inspiratory impedance threshold device will improve inspiratory muscle strength and endurance, and that this will translate into improved exercise performance in patients with Fontan physiology.

In neonates and infants </= 10 kg following cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease a more restrictive red blood cell (RBC) transfusion strategy will be as effective as, and possibly superior to, a liberal RBC strategy. Allowing lower hemoglobin concentration will not affect the cardiac or pulmonary status of the patient.

Quality of life and heart health are intimately connected to childhood physical activity participation (PAP). Physical activity is critical to childhood growth, development, learning, socialization, and quality of life and is an essential component of life-long heart health. Research by the investigators of this study and others has shown that low PAP levels are common among children with heart defects, and that these sedentary lifestyles are not related to exercise capacity, medical status or heart function.

Randomized controlled trial of the use of glucocorticoids to improve the clinical course of neonates post-cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

The objective of this multicentre prospective therapeutic study is to evaluate the effects of CRT on the right and left ventricular function of patients with CHD in the medium and long term. Patients who reject the randomization or cannot be paced with right ventricular pacing alone will be enrolled in group C with continuous biventricular pacing, which is the main group in this study. Optional: Immediately after implantation the patients are divided into group A and B (randomized, single blind (for the patient), cross-over design). The treatment and the completing follow-up examination will take approximately 18 months and includes seven visits - one previous to the CRT and six at certain times afterward. At selected time intervals echocardiographic 3D and Tissue Doppler Imaging to evaluate the global and regional ventricular function are performed. Subjective quality of life assessment (questionnaire) will also be performed at the defined follow-up intervals, and if applicable (optional) also objective assessment of the physical performance (VO2 max). 55 patients also including children and adults with CHD are planned to be included in the study. The main target is to provide evidence of the effectiveness of CRT with biventricular stimulation in terms of improved ventricular function (ejection fraction and QRS interval).

To evaluate the effects (up to one year of age) of indomethacin on the clinical course of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in premature infants (24 hours old or less) and to assess the relative merits of indomethacin and surgery in infants with persistent respiratory distress who were not treated early with indomethacin. Two concurrent trials were performed.

Background: Multiple neonatal disorders are associated with risks of neurological injury. Thus, management of these infants should involve a coordinated approach to permit early diagnosis with improved clinical care. Such initiative involves the use of standardized protocols, continuous and specialized brain monitoring with electroencephalography (EEG), amplitude integrated EEG (aEEG) and Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), neuroimaging and training. Brazil is a very large country with disparities in health care assessment; some neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are not well structured and trained to provide adequate neurocritical care. However, the development and implementation of these neurocritical care units requires high expertise and significant investment of time, manpower and equipment. In order to reduce the existing gap, a unique advanced telemedicine model of neurocritical care called Protecting Brains and Saving Futures (PBSF) protocol was developed and implemented in some Brazilian NICUs. Methods: A prospective observational cohort study will be conducted in 20 Brazilian NICUs that have adopted the PBSF protocol. All infants receiving the protocol during January 2021 to December 2023 will be eligible. Ethical approval will be obtained from the participating institutions. The primary objective is to describe the use of the PBSF protocol and clinical outcomes, by center and over a 3 years period. The use of the PBSF protocol will be measured by quantification of neuromonitoring, neuroimaging exams and sub-specialties consultation. Clinical outcomes of interest after the protocol implementation are length of hospital stay, detection of EEG seizures during hospitalization, use of anticonvulsants, inotropes, and fluid resuscitation, death before hospital discharge, and referral of patients to high-risk infant follow-up. These data will be also compared between infants with primarily neurologic and primarily clinical diagnosis. Discussion: The implementation of the PBSF protocol may provide adequate remote neurocritical care in high-risk infants with optimization of clinical management and improved outcomes. Data from this large, prospective, multicenter study are essential to determine whether neonatal neurocritical units can improve outcomes. Finally, it may offer the necessary framework for larger scale implementation and help in the development of studies of remote neuromonitoring.

This is an investigator initiated, prospective, single-center, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of post-operative low dose vasopressin infusions as an early treatment of low systemic perfusion in pediatric patients following Fontan palliation.