Trends in Long-Term Mortality After Congenital Heart Surgery.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-29-2018

Identifier

DOI: 10.1016/j.jacc.2018.03.491; PMCID: PMC5978758

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart surgery has improved the survival of patients with even the most complex defects, but the long-term survival after these procedures has not been fully described.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term survival of patients (ageyears) who were operated on for congenital heart defects (CHDs).

METHODS: This study used the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium data, a U.S.-based, multicenter registry of pediatric cardiac surgery. Survival analysis included 35,998 patients who survived their first congenital heart surgery at(SMRs).

RESULTS: After a median follow-up of 18 years (645,806 person-years), 3,191 deaths occurred with an overall SMR of 8.3 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.0 to 8.7). The 15-year SMR decreased from 12.7 (95% CI: 11.9 to 13.6) in the early era (1982 to 1992) to 10.0 (95% CI: 9.3 to 10.8) in the late era (1998 to 2003). The SMR remained elevated even for mild forms of CHD such as patent ductus arteriosus (SMR 4.5) and atrial septal defects (SMR 4.9). The largest decreases in SMR occurred for patients with transposition of great arteries (early: 11.0 vs. late: 3.8; p < 0.05), complete atrioventricular canal (31.3 vs. 15.3; p < 0.05), and single ventricle (53.7 vs. 31.3; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: In this large U.S. cohort, long-term mortality after congenital heart surgery was elevated across all forms of CHD. Survival has improved over time, particularly for severe defects with significant changes in their management strategy, but still lags behind the general population.

Journal Title

Journal of the American College of Cardiology

Volume

71

Issue

21

First Page

2434

Last Page

2446

MeSH Keywords

Adolescent; Cardiac Surgical Procedures; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Heart Defects, Congenital; Humans; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Male; Mortality; Postoperative Complications; Registries; Retrospective Studies; Young Adult

Keywords

children’s health; congenital heart defects; mortality; outcomes research

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