Rossana de Jesus Romero Orozco

Dr. Rossana de Jesus Romero Orozco

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Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

3Years (2024-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

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13 September 2024 in Children
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
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RORossana de Jesus Romero Orozco
Rossana de Jesus Romero Orozco
TMTazuddin Azmi Mohammed
Tazuddin Azmi Mohammed
KCKerri Carter
Kerri Carter
SBShaaron Brown
Shaaron Brown
SMStephen Miller
Stephen Miller
KHKaren D. Hendricks-Muñoz
Karen D. Hendricks-Muñoz
(1) Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) increases pulmonary vascular resistance and right ventricular (RV) afterload. Assessment of RV systolic function in PH using RV fractional area change (RV FAC) as a marker directly correlates with mortality and the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). However, few studies have assessed neurodevelopmental outcomes. We hypothesize that cardiac RV systolic dysfunction with lower RV FAC is associated with worse neurodevelopmental impairment (NI). (2) Methods: Retrospective study of 42 subjects with PH to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcomes in the first two years of life based on (i) subjective assessment of RV systolic function and (ii) RV FAC, a specific echocardiographic marker for RV function. (3) Results: Subjects from the initial study cohort (n = 135) with PH who had long-term follow-up were divided into RV dysfunction (study, n = 20) and non-RV dysfunction (control, n = 22) groups. RV FAC in the study vs. control group (0.18 vs. 0.25) was lower (p = 0.00017). There was no statistically significant difference in NI either with RV dysfunction or lower RV FAC. Although not significant, RV dysfunction was associated with longer mean duration of mechanical ventilation, time on ECMO, and length of stay. In the initial cohort (135), mortality was 16.3% and the percentage of NI was 62%. (4) Conclusions: Neonatal pulmonary hypertension is associated with a high degree of neurodevelopment impairment. Early RV systolic dysfunction, as identified by RV FAC, was not an optimal predictive biomarker for infants with PH and neurodevelopmental impairment.