Background

Truncus arteriosus is a birth defect of the heart that occurs when the aorta and pulmonary artery fail to separate into two distinct blood vessels. [1] This leads to oxygenated and unoxygenated blod mixing before it is pumped to the rest of the body. [2] This defect can be diagnosed during pregnancy using prenatal tests like ultrasound but may be missed or mis-diagnosed, or after birth by echocardiography, physical exam, and pulse oximetry. [3] Symptoms of truncus arteriosus after birth can be variable and include heart failure (respiratory distress, tachycardia, poor feeding, and excessive sweating) and blue skin (cyanosis). [1] In addition, this defect is frequently associated with extracardiac defects and genetic syndromes, especially 22q11 deletion. [1] Treatment for truncus arteriosus includes medications to improve cardiac function and remove excess fluid from the body along with surgery to repair the heart and blood vessels. [1] Surgery is typically performed in the first few weeks of life and includes separating the pulmonary artery from the aorta, closing the ventricular septal defect, and creating a connection between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery with an artificial tube. [4] Because an infant with truncus arteriosus needs these procedures soon after birth, this defect is considered a critical congenital heart defect.


Epidemiology

Alaska Birth Defects Registry (ABDR) registers birth defects as reported from health care providers using International Classification of Disease (ICD) billing codes. The use of these ICD codes can lead to misclassification of diagnosed conditions. Prior to this report, all prevalence estimates were based on the number of unique children reported to ABDR with an ICD code representing a specified condition regardless of case confirmation status.

The estimates in this report were derived by conducting medical record review and case confirmation of all reported cases between 2007 and 2018. The confirmation probability calculated from this time period is used to develop informed estimates of the defect prevalence beyond 2018. See Defect prevalence calculation.

For explanations of table columns see Column descriptions.

Prevalence

Truncus arteriosus occurs in about 0.82 (95% CI 0.71–0.93) in every 10,000 live births in the United States. [5]

In Alaska, during 2007-2021, the prevalence of Truncus arteriosus was 0.4 per 10,000 live births.
Reports Defects Births Prevalence (95% CI)
28 6.1 162989 0.4 (0.2, 0.8)
Notes: 95% CI = 95% Confidence Interval

Trend

Prevalence per 10,000 births of Truncus arteriosus during 2007-2021 by five-year moving averages, with 95% confidence interval band and Poisson estimated fitted line.
Trend tests with a p-value of 0.05 or lower detect a statistically significant increase or decrease in the number of live births with Truncus arteriosus during 2007-2021. See p-value estimate
Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|)
-0.19424 0.06059 -3.20566 0.01073
Notes: 95% CI = 95% Confidence Interval

Regional Distribution

Distribution of Truncus arteriosus in Alaska by Public Health Region of maternal residence at the time of birth. A description of regional breakdowns can be found here. Data suppressed for # of reports < 6.

Demographics

Some subgroups may be more at risk for having a baby with Truncus arteriosus. This section provides the descriptive epidemiology of specified maternal, birth, and child characteristics identified from the birth certificate.

Accompanying Diagnoses

The ten diagnoses most commonalty associated with Truncus arteriosus.

Technical notes

Column descriptions

# Reports: Unless otherwise noted, the number of unique reports of the defect received by ABDR during the specified birth year(s). Each report represents a unique child with the specified defect.

# Defects: The estimated true number of reports that are diagnosed defects based on medical record review and case confirmation.

# Births: The number of live births among Alaskan residents that occurred in Alaska during the specified birth year(s).

Prevalence (95% CI): The estimated diagnosed prevalence of the condition and corresponding 95% Confidence Interval. (For information on how the defect prevalence was estimated see below).

Defect prevalence calculation

The estimated defect prevalence was calculated using a Bayesian approach based on the reported prevalence, PPV and 1-NPV (see formula below).

Through medical records review and case confirmation of a random sample of reported cases, the defect prevalence is calculated as:

\[PPV (Positive Predictive Value) = p(defect|report)\] \[NPV (Negative Predictive Value) = p(\overline{defect}|\overline{report})\]

\[p(defect) \approx [p(report)\cdot PPV]+[p(\overline{report})\cdot (1-NPV)]\]

Defect prevalence estimates are a more accurate estimation of the actual diagnosed prevalance of birth defects compared to the reported prevalance estimates in Alaska. ABDR obtains reports from medical providers using International Classification of Disease (ICD) codes that are extracted from individual systems which when aggregated may not reflect true diagnostics. Caution should be used when interpreting and comparing the reported prevalence estimates with national estimates.

See Data analysis methods for more information.

P-value estimate

To evaluate the trend over time and account for under/over-dispersion we constructed a quasi-Poisson regression model. This model assumes the variance is a linear function of the mean and models the estimated number of annual defects by year with a natural log (ln) offset of the annual births. P-values < 0.05 are considered significant, which indicates that the predicted slope is significantly different from a slope of zero.

Data suppression

For region and demographic data tables, values are suppressed based on the number of reports received during the observation period. Counts less than 6 are suppressed (as indicated by ‘-’ in the table). For regions or demographics with only one cell count suppressed a second is suppressed to eliminate the ability to back-calculate the estimate.

References

[1] Congenital Heart Defects - Facts about Truncus Arteriosus | CDC. (2019). Retrieved 9 April 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/truncusarteriosus.html

[2] Truncus Arteriosus | Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. (2021). Retrieved 9 April 2021, from https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/truncus-arteriosus

[3] Truncus arteriosus - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic. (2021). Retrieved 9 April 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/truncus-arteriosus/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20364277

[4] Truncus Arteriosus | Symptoms, Repair & Prognosis . (2021). Retrieved 9 April 2021, from https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/t/truncus

[5] Mai CT, Isenburg JL, Canfield MA, Meyer RE, Correa A, Alverson CJ, Lupo PJ, Riehle-Colarusso T, Cho SJ, Aggarwal D, Kirby RS; National Birth Defects Prevention Network. National population-based estimates for major birth defects, 2010-2014. Birth Defects Res. 2019 Nov 1;111(18):1420-1435. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.1589. Epub 2019 Oct 3. PMID: 31580536; PMCID: PMC7203968.

Authorship

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) senior epidemiologist Dr. Jared Parrish, PhD conceived of the presented analysis. Alaska Birth Defects Registry program manager and epidemiologist Chris Barnett, MS MPH and Dr. Jared Parrish, PhD developed the theory and performed the computations. Research analysts Monica Mills and Jordyn Lord managed the project and data storage. Pediatric cardiologist Dr. James Christiansen, MD performed defect confirmations and provided medical consultation. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final report.

Suggested Citation

State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Section of Women’s, Children’s, and Family Health. Alaska Birth Defects Registry Condition Report: Truncus Arteriosus, Alaska, 2007-2021. Updated April 11, 2024. Available at: http://rpubs.com/AK_ABDR/truncus_arteriosus.

Contact

Alaska Birth Defects Registry (ABDR)
3601 C Street, Suite 358
Anchorage, AK 99503
(907) 269-3400 phone
(907) 754-3529 fax

Updated: April 11, 2024
Code source: R:\ABDR\Analysis_New\ABDR_CASECONF\cond_reports\Published_reports\Targets_publications\truncus_arteriosus_tar.Rmd

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