Third Trimester Fetal Heart Rates in Antibody-Mediated Complete Heart Block Predict Need for Neonatal Pacemaker Placement

Congenital complete heart block (CCHB) affects 1 in 20,000 newborns. This study evaluates fetal and neonatal risk factors predictive of neonatal pacemaker placement in antibody-mediated complete heart block. The Children’s Hospital Los Angeles institutional fetal, pacemaker, and medical record databases were queried for confirmed SSA/SSB cases of CCHB between January 2004 and July 2019. Cases excluded were those with a diagnosis beyond the neonatal period, diagnosis of a channelopathy, or if maternal antibody status was unknown. We recorded the gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW), fetal heart rates (FHRs) of the last echocardiogram before delivery, specific neonatal ECG and echocardiogram findings, age at pacemaker placement, and mortality. Of 43 neonates identified with CCHB, 27 had confirmed maternal antibody exposure. Variables associated with neonatal pacemaker implantation were FHRs < 50 bpm ( p = 0.005), neonatal heart rates < 52 bpm ( p = 0.015), and neonatal left ventricular fractional shortening (FS) percentages < 34% ( p = 0.03). On multivariate analysis, FHR remained significant ( p = 0.03) and demonstrated an increased risk of neonatal pacemaker placement by an odds ratio of 12.5 (95% CI 1.3–116, p = 0.05). The median GA at which the FHR was obtained was 34 weeks (IQR 26–35 weeks). Neonatal pacemaker placement was highly associated with a FHR < 50 bpm, neonatal HR < 52 bpm, and neonatal FS < 34%. FHRs at 34 weeks GA (IQR 26–35 weeks) correlated well with postnatal heart rates and were predictive of neonatal pacemaker placement.