RT Book, Section A1 Pathan, Nazima A1 Marino, Luise A2 Goday, Praveen S. A2 Mehta, Nilesh M. SR Print(0) ID 1105179560 T1 Nutrition for the Infant or Child in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit T2 Pediatric Critical Care Nutrition YR 2015 FD 2015 PB McGraw-Hill Education PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-179852-5 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1105179560 RD 2024/03/29 AB Globally, congenital heart disease (CHD) represents one-third of all major congenital anomalies, affecting between 0.3% and 1.5% of all pregnancies (around 40,000 children are born with CHD per year in the United States).1 Growth faltering is commonly seen in children with CHD, particularly those with cyanotic disease and univentricular physiology. Children with CHD exhibit early and progressive falls in their growth trajectory in comparison to healthy children, with reductions in weight-for-age Z-score, head circumference, and length-for-age Z-score. The process of surgery and bypass, in addition to the effects of cardiac failure and chronic disease, involve a significant degree of metabolic and nutritional stress, such that postoperative malnutrition presents a further burden on restoring growth toward normal parameters. Early nutrition support is crucial, particularly in those undergoing surgery in the neonatal and infant period, where there is little reserve during what is a critical time for brain development.