Deep hypothermic arrest: observations on later development in children.

Thirty-two children were reviewed following closure of ventricular septal defect in infancy. Fifteen had undergone continuous perfusion and 17 had been subjected to core cooling followed by deep hypothermic arrest. Parental and professional evaluations of intellectual and motor development, at periods between 7 and 72 months following operation, suggest that there is a higher incidence of developmental abnormality in the subgroup treated with deep hypothermic arrest.