Prevalence of T-lymphocyte abnormalities in infants with congenital heart disease
E. A. Kiel, W. H. Drummond and D. J. Barrett
Thirty-two infants younger than 6 months with catheterization-proved
congenital heart disease were prospectively examined for T-lymphocyte
immunodeficiency (compared with adult and normal newborn controls). Cardiac
lesions were separated into two groups: (1) "high-risk" lesions previously
associated with T-cell abnormalities in DiGeorge's syndrome, and (2) the
remaining "low-risk" lesions. Cardiac patients as a whole did not have
significant abnormalities in T-cell rosette (TCR) percentages (mean +/- SE,
50.0% +/- 22%) or response to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) (72,243 +/- 38,388
counts per minute). However, a greater percentage of patients with
high-risk cardiac lesions had abnormal TCR and PHA results than either the
control or low-risk group, due to the inclusion of three infants with
DiGeorge's syndrome. These findings suggest that newborn infants without
evidence of DiGeorge's syndrome have normal T-lymphocyte function. Infants
with high-risk cardiac lesions deserve a careful immunologic evaluation to
avoid significant morbidity and mortality.
