Conception by assisted reproductive technology in infants with critical congenital heart disease in Japan

Research question: What is the proportion of infants born as a result of assisted reproductive technology ART across different types of neonatal critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in a Japanese population? Design: A retrospective analysis of 418 consecutive infants with CCHD that required catheter treatment or surgery within the first 28 days of life or ductal-dependent lesions, in two paediatric centres in Japan, between January 2014 and December 2019. The proportion of ART in infants with each type of CCHD was evaluated. The proportion of ART in infants with univentricular heart defect (UVH) compared with those with biventricular heart defect (BVH) was evaluated. Results: The study group included 229 boys and 189 girls, with a gestational age of 38 +/- 2 weeks. Overall, 61 infants (14.6%) were conceived by fertility treatment with 46 (11.0%) conceived by ART. Univentricular heart defect and BVH were identified in 111 infants (26.6%) and 307 infants (73.4%), respectively. The proportion of infants conceived by ART was significantly higher in UVH (16.2%) than in BVH (9.1%) (OR 2.28, 95% CI 1.11 to 4.68, P = 0.025), regardless of maternal age and maternal history of miscarriage. Conclusions: The proportion of ART in infants with CCHD, especially UVH, was high. These findings could form the basis of a rationale for carrying out fetal echocardiography in fetuses conceived by ART.

Automated summary

This study investigated the proportion of infants born through ART in different types of CCHD in a Japanese population and found that the proportion of ART in CCHD infants, especially UVH, was high. These findings could provide a rationale for conducting fetal echocardiography in fetuses conceived through ART.