Cord Blood Cardiovascular Biomarkers in Left-Sided Congenital Heart Disease

Fetal echocardiography has limited prognostic ability in the evaluation of left-sided congenital heart defects (left heart defects). Cord blood cardiovascular biomarkers could improve the prognostic evaluation of left heart defects. A multicenter prospective cohort (2013-2019) including fetuses with left heart defects (aortic coarctation, aortic stenosis, hypoplastic left heart, and multilevel obstruction (complex left heart defects) subdivided according to their outcome (favorable vs. poor), and control fetuses were evaluated in the third trimester of pregnancy at three referral centers in Spain. Poor outcome was defined as univentricular palliation, heart transplant, or death. Cord blood concentrations of N-terminal precursor of B-type natriuretic peptide, Troponin I, transforming growth factor beta, placental growth factor, and soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 were determined. A total of 45 fetuses with left heart defects (29 favorable and 16 poor outcomes) and 35 normal fetuses were included, with a median follow-up of 3.1 years (interquartile range 1.4-3.9). Left heart defects with favorable outcome showed markedly increased cord blood transforming growth factor beta (normal heart median 15.5 ng/mL (6.8-21.4) vs. favorable outcome 51.7 ng/mL (13.8-73.9) vs. poor outcome 25.1 ng/mL (6.9-39.0), p = 0.001) and decreased placental growth factor concentrations (normal heart 17.9 pg/mL (13.8-23.9) vs. favorable outcome 12.8 pg/mL (11.7-13.6) vs. poor outcome 11.0 pg/mL (8.8-15.4), p < 0.001). Poor outcome left heart defects had higher N-terminal precursor of B-type natriuretic peptide (normal heart 508.0 pg/mL (287.5-776.3) vs. favorable outcome 617.0 pg/mL (389.8-1087.8) vs. poor outcome 1450.0 pg/mL (919.0-1645.0), p = 0.001) and drastically reduced soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 concentrations (normal heart 1929.7 pg/mL (1364.3-2715.8) vs. favorable outcome (1848.3 pg/mL (646.9-2313.6) vs. poor outcome 259.0 pg/mL (182.0-606.0), p < 0.001). Results showed that fetuses with left heart defects present a distinct cord blood biomarker profile according to their outcome.

Automated summary

Fetal echocardiography has limited prognostic ability in evaluating left heart defects. Cord blood cardiovascular biomarkers could improve the prognostic evaluation of left heart defects. The study found that fetuses with left heart defects have distinct cord blood biomarker profiles according to their outcome.