Hospitalization for Congenital Heart Disease in Beijing: Patient Characteristics and Temporal Trends

Abstract

Background: The hospitalization burden of congenital heart disease (CHD) at the national or regional level in China remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate the recent patient characteristics and temporal trends of hospitalizations for CHD in Beijing. Methods: Patients hospitalized for CHD in Beijing from 2007 to 2011 were identified from the Hospital Discharge Information System. Patient characteristics were recorded, and trends in hospitalization rates were analyzed by Poisson regression after adjustment for age and sex. Results: A total of 53,064 patients were admitted for CHD in Beijing during the study period, among whom 50.5% were children younger than 5 years, 30.0% were adults, 18.5% had severe CHD, 86.9% were nonpermanent Beijing residents, and 81.3% were admitted to cardiac-specific tertiary hospitals. The hospitalization rate increased from 10.2 per 100,000 population in 2007 to 12.4 per 100,000 population in 2011, representing a significant increase after adjustment for age and sex (P = 0.009). However, the trends varied in different groups. The rates halved in 2011 for both nonsevere CHD and severe CHD compared with the rates in 2010, whereas increasing trends were noticed in children aged 1–4 years and adults for nonsevere CHD across the study period. Conclusions: The overall rate of CHD hospitalization has been increasing in Beijing, whereas not all patient groups have the same trend. The hospitalization rate decreased among infants, while the rate for nonsevere CHD increased significantly among adults. These findings will be of importance for future allocation of health resources.