Intubation and Lower Saturation in the Delivery Room are Associated with Balloon Atrial Septostomy in Neonates with Transposition of the Great Arteries

To identify delivery room (DR) characteristics of patients with transposition of the great arteries (TGA) who underwent preoperative balloon atrial septostomy (BAS). Retrospective cohort study of all patients with prenatally diagnosed TGA delivered at our center between 2013 and 2023 who underwent arterial switch operation during the newborn admission. A total of 168 patients were included (median gestational age 39.5 weeks, 64% male, 33% with ventricular septal defect, 8% with aortic arch hypoplasia). BAS was performed in 84 patients (50%). Patients who underwent BAS had higher proportion of intubation in the DR (87% vs 33%, P