Skip to content

Fetal Cerebrovascular Autoregulation in Congenital Heart Disease and Association With Neonatal Neurobehavior

Fetal Cerebrovascular Autoregulation in Congenital Heart Disease and Association With Neonatal Neurobehavior

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 2Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05767385
Enrollment
150
Registered
2023-03-14
Start date
2021-12-17
Completion date
2025-12-31
Last updated
2025-06-25

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Congenital Heart Disease in Children, Hypoxia, Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Complex Congenital Heart Disease

Keywords

Congenital Heart Disease, Maternal Fetal, Neonatal Neurodevelopment

Brief summary

Determine 1) the impact of abnormal fetal cerebrovascular physiology with neurodevelopmental delay (ND) outcomes and 2) how this relationship is modified by patient and environmental factors such as chronic congenital heart disease (CCHD) lesion, maternal-fetal environment, and social determinants of heath (SDOH) in a diverse population using a multicenter design. Pregnant women will be approached during one of their fetal cardiology clinic visits.

Detailed description

Aim 1: Determine the association of baseline cerebrovascular resistance and reactivity and pre-operative neurobehavior in neonates with complex congenital heart disease (CCHD). Exposures: The baseline middle cerebral artery pulsatility index (MCA-PI) and change in MCA-PI. Analyses: Our principal analyses for Aim 1 will use separate linear regression models to relate the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) attention score to 1) the baseline MCA-PI while controlling for maternal age, infant sex, race/ethnicity, and SDOH measures (maternal education, socioeconomic status (SES), insurance status), and clinical site, and 2) the change in MCA-PI adjusted for baseline MCA-PI while controlling for the same set of covariates. If the NNNS attention score distribution is skewed, we will consider transformations so that model residual plots achieve approximate normality. The covariates in the above regression analyses exclude factors that may potentially lie on the causal pathway from the MCA-PI to the attention score to avoid risk of over adjustment. In secondary analyses, 2 regression analyses will be repeated after additional adjustment for the maternal-fetal environment indicator(s), CCHD category, and age at NNNS evaluation. As a secondary analysis, we will evaluate the interaction between baseline MCA-PI and change in MCA-PI. For this analysis, we will consider dichotomizing baseline MCA-PI to facilitate interpretation of the interaction effect. Aim 2: Determine the impact of patient and environmental factors on cerebrovascular resistance and reactivity Exposures: Patient factors including CCHD category, indicators of the maternal-fetal environment, and SDOH Analysis: The primary analysis for Aim 2 will investigate the joint relationship of the MCA-PI with SDOH measures and the maternal-fetal comorbidity indicator while accounting for the CCHD category (defined as Left sided obstructive lesion, Right sided obstructive lesion, Dextro-Transposition of the Great Arteries, and Other). We will apply multiple linear regression to relate the MCA-PI to the SDOH measures and a maternal-fetal comorbidity indicator for the presence of any of maternal hypertension, diabetes, pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and abruption, prematurity, and small for gestational age. The CCHD category will also be a covariate in the regression model. Additional exploratory regression analyses will include pairwise interaction terms between the maternal-fetal comorbidity indicator(s) with the SDOH measures to assess if the association of the maternal-fetal environment indicator(s) with the MCA-PI varies across the different levels of the SDOH measures. We will perform a separate multiple regression with the change in the MCA-PI as the outcome and with the baseline MCA-PI as an additional covariate.

Interventions

PROCEDURESingle Arm

* Phase 1- Baseline: A fetal echocardiogram will be performed as part of routine standard clinical care. * Phase 2- MH: The participant will be placed on 8 litres of 100% FiO2 (inspired oxygen fraction) via a non-rebreather face mask for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, additional images will be obtained. MH will be discontinued after additional imaging is complete. * Phase 3- Recovery: After at least 5 minutes of discontinuation of MH, additional images will be obtained to ensure any changes have returned back to baseline.

PROCEDURENeonatal Neurobehavioral Scale

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) evaluation: All neonates with CHD expected to undergo neonatal cardiac intervention or surgery have pre-operative NNNS assessment as PCH as standard of care. The NNNS takes approximately 30 minutes to complete. It is administered by a licensed physical, speech, or occupational therapist who has completed training and additional certification. The NNNS therapist will be blinded to the results of the fetal echocardiogram and MCA-PI.

Sponsors

Primary Children's Hospital
CollaboratorOTHER
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Utah
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Interventional Research Design

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
0 Years to 52 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Pregnant women 18 years of age and over with a singleton fetus with known or suspected congenital heart disease anticipated to need intervention or surgery within 30 days of birth.

Exclusion criteria

* Known fetal chromosomal or genetic abnormalities * Multiple gestation pregnancy * Fetal extra-cardiac anomalies

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Pre-operative Neonatal Network Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS) attention scores<=30 days of lifeThe NeoNatal Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS-II) examines the neurobehavioral organization, neurological reflexes, motor development - active and passive tone, and signs of stress and withdrawal of the at-risk and drug-exposed infant
Baseline MCA-PI and change in MCA-PI with Maternal Hyperoxia<= 30 days of lifeThe fetal middle cerebral artery (MCA) pulsatility index (PI)

Countries

United States

Contacts

Primary ContactWhitnee Hogan, MD
whitnee.hogan@hsc.utah.edu801-213-3599
Backup ContactLisa M. Hansen, BA
lisa.hansen@hsc.utah.edu801-587-9104

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026