Post-Operative Outcomes in Children With and Without Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery

BACKGROUND: Significant advances have been made in the diagnosis and treatment of children with congenital heart disease (CHD), allowing for longer life expectancies and an increasing number who will require noncardiac surgery. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to compare the incidence of mortality and major adverse post-operative outcomes following noncardiac surgery in children with and without CHD. METHODS: Data from the 2012 pediatric database of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were analyzed. After propensity score matching, and stratification by severity of CHD, mortality and adverse post-operative outcomes were compared between controls and children with CHD. RESULTS: Among the 51,008 children included in the database, 4,520 children with CHD underwent noncardiac surgery. After propensity score matching, we included 2,805 children with minor CHD, 1,272 with major CHD, and 417 with severe CHD. Children in each subgroup were matched and compared with controls without CHD who underwent noncardiac surgery of comparable complexity. The incidence of overall mortality was significantly higher in children with moderate (3.9%) and severe (8.2%) CHD compared with their controls (respectively, 1.7% p < 0.001 and 1.2% p = 0.001). Both 30-day and overall mortality were significantly increased in children with severe CHD (odds ratio OR: 8.43, 95% confidence interval CI: 2.52 to 28.21; p < 0.001; OR: 7.32, 95% CI: 2.83 to 18.90; p < 0.001) compared with their matched controls. Overall mortality was also significantly increased in children with major CHD compared with their controls (OR: 2.28; 95% CI: 1.37 to 3.79; p = 0.002), whereas no difference was observed between children with minor CHD and their matched controls. CONCLUSIONS: Children with major and severe CHD, undergoing noncardiac surgery, have an increased risk of mortality compared with children without CHD. Further studies need to identify the optimal environment for surgical procedures, develop trained multidisciplinary teams to care for children with CHD, and define management strategies for improving outcomes in this high-risk population.