MATernal hyperoxygenation in Congenital Heart Disease (MATCH)
Contact
Liqun Sun
Email
Fetuses with congenital heart disease have slower brain development than those without heart disease. This is associated with reduced oxygen delivery to the developing brain. Supplementary inhaled oxygen during the third trimester could be a safe and feasible method of improving oxygenation of the fetal brain. In this study, we will evaluate whether supplementing mothers with oxygen helps brain development in fetuses with congenital heart disease.
The team provided a project update at the 2022 CHILD-BRIGHT Virtual Symposium. View it here.
Research theme:
BRIGHT Beginnings: Projects to optimize brain and developmental outcomes
Age range:
20 weeks gestational age–18 months
Start date:
April 2017
Principal Investigators:
Dr. Mike Seed, SickKids
Dr. Steven Miller, SickKids
Website:
https://lab.research.sickkids.ca/neons/
2020-21 Project Update
2019-20 Project Update
Our team made great progress in recruiting participants for both parts of our study. We’re using medical imaging to better understand the effect of giving mothers supplemental oxygen on the brain development of their baby with heart disease.
In the first part, we are providing pregnant moms with supplemental oxygen while imaging their fetus to improve our understanding of how oxygen reaches the fetuses’ brains. So far, 37 mothers have participated in this part of the study.
In the second part, we are providing mothers with supplemental oxygen throughout their third trimester to understand whether this promotes fetal brain development. Eight moms have participated in this part, and there have been no adverse outcomes attributable to oxygen supplementation thus far.
We are collaborating with patients and health care consumers to understand how tolerable this form of therapy is for expecting mothers. We have also integrated youth voices to our research team. Two of our team members are youths; we hope to empower our young researchers to become experts in conducting a clinical trial.
In the next year, we are excited to continue recruiting participants. Our study is also evolving in consultation with our youth- and patient-partners, as we consider adding a control group of children that have been treated at SickKids for single ventricle congenital heart disease.
2018-19 Project Update
In the MATCH trial, we are asking whether supplemental oxygen inhalation will improve brain development in fetal congenital heart disease. First, we are investigating the effects of acute maternal hyperoxygenation on fetal cerebral oxygen delivery in different forms of congenital heart disease. To date, 23 pregnant moms have participated in this phase of the trial.
Second, we are investigating the effects of chronic maternal hyperoxygenation in fetuses with congenital heart disease by providing moms with supplemental oxygen throughout their third trimester. To date, 5 moms have participated in this phase of the trial, in which we measure the growth of the baby’s brain and their neurodevelopment at 1.5 years of age. Carrying an oxygen tank throughout your third trimester requires lifestyle changes, but moms have reported that it is tolerable and that participating in the study reduces some of the anxiety associated with this diagnosis.
We look forward to continued progress on the above phases of our trial before testing this intervention in a larger population.
MORE: Read how we are connecting across disciplines on p. 27 or our 2018-19 Report to Community
Project News
