Clinical implication of intraoperative ventricular-arterial coupling in pediatric patients undergoing ventricular septal defects repair: A retrospective cohort study

Background Ventricular-arterial coupling is the ratio of arterial elastance to ventricular end-systolic elastance. Aims The objective of this study was to determine the clinical implication of intraoperative ventricular-arterial coupling derived from the pressure-area relationship using transesophageal echocardiography. Methods This retrospective study reviewed the medical records of 72 pediatric patients with ventricular septal defects who underwent corrective surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. The single-beat modified method was used to assess ventricular-arterial coupling. Logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the correlation between ventricular-arterial coupling and early postoperative outcomes, including the maximum vasoactive-inotropic score, length of mechanical ventilation, and length of hospital stay. Results Ventricular-arterial coupling after cardiopulmonary bypass significantly increased (from 1.0 +/- 0.4 to 1.4 +/- 0.8, p < .001), indicating a disproportionate increase in the arterial elastance index (from 11.5 +/- 5.1 to 19.8 +/- 7.5 mmHg/cm(2)/m(2), p < .001) compared with the ventricular end-systolic elastance index (from 13.0 +/- 6.9 to 16.9 +/- 9.0 mmHg/cm(2)/m(2), p < .001). Logistic regression analyses revealed that high postoperative ventricular-arterial coupling was independently associated with higher postoperative maximum vasoactive-inotropic score (>10; odds ratio [OR], 8.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38-46.85, p = .020), longer postoperative mechanical ventilation (>15 h; OR: 11.00; 95% CI: 1.26-96.45, p = .030), and longer postoperative hospital stay (>7 days; OR: 2.98; 95% CI: 1.04-8.58, p = .043). Conclusions Ventricular-arterial coupling can be easily obtained from the intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography in pediatric patients undergoing ventricular septal defects repair. High postoperative ventricular-arterial coupling is strongly associated with worse early postoperative outcomes. Ventricular-arterial coupling shows promise as an intraoperative analysis tool that can provide insight into the impact of interventions on cardiovascular performance and identify potential targets for treatment in this population.