# Glycocalyx Degradation in Pediatric Patients with Cyanotic and Acyanotic Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Cardiac Repair Surgery

## TL;DR

This study found that heart surgery causes significant damage to the protective layer of blood vessels in children with heart defects, but this damage is similar in both cyanotic and acyanotic patients.

## Contribution

The study shows that glycocalyx degradation occurs similarly in cyanotic and acyanotic pediatric heart surgery patients.

## Key findings

- Syndecan-1 concentrations increased significantly after surgery in both cyanotic and acyanotic groups.
- No significant difference in syndecan-1 levels was found between cyanotic and acyanotic patients.
- CPB and aortic clamping times were not correlated with syndecan-1 concentrations.

## Abstract

Background/Objectives: In the present study, we hypothesized that cardiac surgery in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) leads to profound endothelial glycocalyx degradation, measured as the increase in plasma syndecan-1 concentration, and that this endothelial damage is more pronounced in patients with cyanotic CHD. Methods: A total of 40 infants (24 with acyanotic and 16 with cyanotic CHD) were enrolled in this prospective study. A total of 39 cardiac surgeries were performed with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), 38 with CPB and aortic clamping, and 3 with CPB, aortic clamping, and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Results: Syndecan-1 concentrations increased significantly post-surgery compared to the baseline in both groups (cyanotic: 24.4 to 48.0 ng/mL, p < 0.0001; acyanotic: 28.8 to 59.8 ng/mL, p < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in syndecan-1 concentrations at any timepoint between children with cyanotic and those with acyanotic CHD. Baseline syndecan-1 showed no correlation with preoperative arterial oxygen saturation (r = 0.26, p = 0.102), hemoglobin (r = −0.3, p = 0.06), age (r = 0.15, p = 0.36), and weight (r = 0.13, p = 0.42). Of note, CPB time (r = 0.08, p = 0.63) and AC time (r = 0.03, p = 0.86) were not related to syndecan-1 concentrations at the end of surgery. Conclusions: Cardiac surgery leads to profound glycocalyx degradation in children with CHD detected by increased plasma syndecan-1 concentrations. Regardless of major pathophysiological differences, children with cyanotic and acyanotic CHD presented similar plasma syndecan-1 values throughout the study.