Lower bone strength in young patients with Fontan circulation compared to controls

Objectives: Previous reports indicate bone deficits in patients with Fontan circulation. However, the consequences of these deficits on bone strength and when these changes occur are unclear.

Aim: To compare the tibial bone strength-strain index between young patients (6-19 years) with Fontan circulation and age- and sex-matched controls, and to determine strength-strain-index in subgroups of children (6-12 years) and adolescents (13-19 years) versus controls.

Method: The tibia was examined with peripheral quantitative CT. Based on the assessed data, bone strength-strain index was calculated in the lateral and anterior-posterior directions.

Results: Twenty patients with Fontan and twenty controls (mean age 13.0 ± 4.4 years; 50% females) were examined. Patients had a lower strength-strain index in the lateral direction compared to controls (808.4 ± 416.8mm³ versus 1162.5 ± 552.1mm³, p = 0.043). Subgroup analyses showed no differences regarding strength-strain index in children (6-12 years) with Fontan circulation compared to controls. However, the adolescents (13-19 years) with Fontan circulation had lower strength-strain indexes in both the lateral and anterior-posterior directions compared to controls (1041.4 ± 299.8mm³ versus 1596.4 ± 239.6mm³, p < 0.001, and 771.7 ± 192.4mm³ versus 1084.9 ± 215.0mm³, p = 0.004). When adjusted for height, there were differences between patients (6-19 years) and controls in strength-strain indexes in both the lateral and anterior-posterior directions. In subgroup analyses, the results remained robust.

Conclusion: Young patients (6-19 years) with Fontan circulation have a lower strength-strain index in the tibia compared to controls. Subgroup analyses show that this deficit is mainly driven by the differences in adolescents (13-19 years), which might suggest that bone strength decreases with age.