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- Title
Percutaneous liver biopsy in Fontan patients.
- Authors
Srinivasan, Abhay; Guzman, Anthony K.; Rand, Elizabeth B.; Rychik, Jack; Goldberg, David J.; Russo, Pierre A.; Cahill, Anne Marie
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>Patients who have undergone the Fontan operation for palliation of congenital heart disease with single-ventricle pathophysiology are at high risk for developing progressive liver fibrosis. Pathological assessment from percutaneous liver biopsy is central to the management of Fontan-associated liver disease, but liver biopsy in this vulnerable population poses unique challenges and potential risks.<bold>Objective: </bold>This retrospective study describes our experience with percutaneous liver biopsy performed to assess changes of Fontan-associated liver disease, with particular regard to procedural outcomes.<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>Data from liver biopsy procedure reports, pathology reports, cardiac angiography pressure measurements and laboratory values of patients with single ventricle heart disease after the Fontan operation who underwent ultrasound-guided percutaneous liver biopsy performed in interventional radiology at a pediatric tertiary care center during a 3-year period were retrospectively analyzed.<bold>Results: </bold>Sixty-eight liver biopsies were performed in 67 patients (mean age: 20.2 years, range: 7.2-39 years). The technical success rate was 100%, and tissue was adequate for assessing liver disease in 100% of the procedures, including biopsies performed with a single pass. Anticoagulation was routinely suspended before biopsy, and no cardiac complications were encountered due to this suspension. A coaxial biopsy system using an 18-gauge (G) full-core instrument through a 17-G introducer trocar was most commonly used, in 41/68 cases (60%). The most common trough length was 2.3 cm, used in 37 cases (54%). One pass was made in 27 procedures (40%) and two passes in 30 (44%); tract embolization with gelatin sponge was performed in 52 (76%). The only complication was hemorrhage, which occurred in 5/68 (7.4%) of the biopsies, minor in four (5.9%) and major in one (1.5%) -- similar to rates reported for liver biopsy in non-Fontan patients. Hemorrhage had a delayed presentation in three of these five cases. Immediate post-biopsy hemoglobin decrease of ≥2 mg/dL showed a low sensitivity for hemorrhage. The mean Fontan pressure measured during cardiac angiography was 13.8 mmHg, and shunt pressures were not associated with an increased risk of hemorrhage.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Percutaneous liver biopsy in Fontan patients can be performed safely with high technical success rates and without increased complication rates. Meticulous technique and close observation are recommended to reduce post-biopsy complications. The degree of right heart pressure elevation was not associated with hemorrhage.
- Subjects
LIVER biopsy; HEART ventricles; CONGENITAL heart disease; PEDIATRIC radiology; INTERVENTIONAL radiology; NATALIZUMAB; BIOPSY; CARDIOPULMONARY bypass; CIRRHOSIS of the liver; NEEDLE biopsy; ULTRASONIC imaging; RETROSPECTIVE studies
- Publication
Pediatric Radiology, 2019, Vol 49, Issue 3, p342
- ISSN
0301-0449
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1007/s00247-018-4311-9