COVID-19 as a Confounding Factor in a Child Submitted to Staged Surgical Palliation of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: One of the First Reports of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Congenital Heart Disease Patients

ABSTRACT An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that began in Wuhan, China, spread worldwide turning the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) into a pandemic. It is not known, yet, if children with congenital heart disease (CHD) would be at increased risk due to their cardiovascular condition or if they would benefit from their young age. This report describes one of the first documented cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a patient with congenital heart disease. We report a child stricken by COVID-19 in the early postoperative course of Fontan palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). Of highest relevance, we showed that COVID-19 could be a confounding factor for the diagnosis and management of patients with CHD. Particularly for those with cyanotic congenital heart disease, in which SARSCoV-2 infection can progress with significant hypoxemia and mimics surgical complications.