Abstract

Surgery aims to increase longevity and improve symptomatology. Surgical correction of truncus arteriosus after five months of age does not appear to offer a survival advantage over the natural history; repair after 5 months of age can be considered to be ‘late’ in this regard. Although surgical correction after five months of age can be achieved with low operative mortality, it remains unclear whether symptomatology is improved. Pubmed and Google scholar were searched between January 1st 1966 and September 30th 2022. Search terms included: Truncus, arteriosus, correction, repair, New York Heart Association, symptoms, and functional. Papers that included patients who had truncus arteriosus repair after the age of 5 months were examined. Three hundred and sixty seven results were obtained; 44 full-text papers were reviewed, seven full-text papers representing 16 patients were included. Surgical repair improved symptoms in 14 of 16 (87.5 ± 18.3; 95% CI) patients who had surgery after 5 months of age. Surgical correction of truncus arteriosus after 5 months of age improves symptoms in the majority of operable patients.

Key words: Pediatric, truncus artriosus, operative, outcomes.