Thiamine deficiency in children congenital heart disease before and after corrective surgery

Background: Malnutrition is common in children with congenital heart disease, while thiamine deficiency (TD) is common in malnutrition, in critically ill children, and in adults with congestive heart failure treated with loop diuretics. Our goal was to determine whether children with congenital heart disease had TD and whether treatment with loop diuretics is related to TD in these patients. Methods: Twelve children with ventricular septal defect (VSD) treated with furosemide, and 10 children with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) referred for corrective surgery were consecutively enrolled into a prospective study. Data were collected 24 hours before surgery and 5 days after surgery for nutrition evaluation, medications used, anthropometric measurements, and laboratory markers of malnutrition. Thiamine and pyridoxine deficiencies were evaluated using activated enzyme assays. Results: Seven children (32% of patients) did not meet the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for calories and 18% of patients did not meet the RDA for thiamine intake. Anthropometric measurements were low in both groups, more so in those with VSD, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Overall, 18% (1/12 with VSD and 3/10 with TOF) of children with congenital heart disease had thiamine deficiency before surgery. Three of the four children with TD had adequate intake of thiamine. Six children (27%) had TD 5 days postsurgery (3 children with VSD and 3 children with TOF). Conclusions: TD is common in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) referred for corrective surgery both before and after surgery. Our results suggest that neither diuretic treatment nor malnutrition can fully explain the development of TD in these children.