Congenital heart diseaseCohort study
Differences in Prevalence and Severity of Liver Disease Between Lateral Tunnel and Extracardiac Conduit Fontan
- retrospective study
Authors' conclusion
ECC was associated with a higher prevalence and worse severity of liver disease at baseline, and greater disease progression during follow-up compared to those with LT. Further studies are required to determine the optimal strategies for the management of liver disease in patients with ECC.
Study context
- Population
- Adults with total cavopulmonary connection (TCPC), in a primary-TCPC cohort (TCPC at the initial Fontan operation) and an FC-TCPC cohort (Fontan conversion to TCPC)
- Exposure
- extracardiac conduit vs lateral tunnel
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of cirrhosis (primary-TCPC cohort) · baseline
P = 0.03
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Values | P value |
|---|---|---|
| APRI (primary-TCPC cohort) · baseline · worse disease severity with ECC | ECC 0.46 (range as printed [0.34;0.61]) · LT 0.39 (range as printed [0.29;0.52]) | P < 0.001 |
| FIB-4 (primary-TCPC cohort) · baseline · worse disease severity with ECC | ECC 0.89 (range as printed [0.59;1.12]) · LT 0.76 (range as printed [0.31;0.99]) | P = 0.009 |
Liver disease progression (primary-TCPC cohort)
- Both groups had progression of liver disease; Extracardiac conduit (ECC) group had a greater temporal increase in biomarker levels, with a higher relative increase in model for end-stage liver disease excluding international normalized ratio, FIB-4, and APRI
Prevalence, severity and progression of liver disease (FC-TCPC group)
- No significant differences between ECC and lateral tunnel (LT)
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Differences in Prevalence and Severity of Liver Disease Between Lateral Tunnel and Extracardiac Conduit Fontan. JACC Adv. Published 17 March 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jacadv.2026.102680
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it