Risk Adjustment For Congenital Heart Surgery Research Articles

Outcomes Following Neonatal Cardiac Surgery in Cape Town, South Africa.

Neonatal Cardiac Surgery has developed significantly since its advent, with improved outcomes, survival, and physiological repair. Limited programs offer neonatal cardiac surgery in emerging economies. We report our experience with neonates undergoing cardiac surgery in our cardiac surgery program. We performed a secondary data analysis on all neonates aged ≤ 30 days undergoing congenital cardiac surgery from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020, including outcomes up to 30-days post-surgery. A total of 859 patients underwent cardiac surgery at our center, of these 81 (9.4%) were neonates. The proportion of neonates increased annually (8.7%, 9.6%, and 10.2%). There were 49 (60%) male patients, and 32 (40%) had surgery in the second week of life. Fourteen (17%) were premature, four (5%) had a major chromosomal abnormality, five (6%) a major medical illness, and eight (10%) a major noncardiac structural anomaly. The Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) categorization of surgery was predominantly RACHS 3; n = 28 (35%) and 4; n = 23 (29%). Hours in the intensive care unit (ICU) were extensive; median 189 [interquartile range (IQR): 114-286] as were hours of ventilation; median 95 [IQR 45-163]. Almost 60% (n = 48) of procedures were complicated by sepsis, as defined in our database. The in-hospital mortality rate was 16% (n = 13); the 30-day mortality rate was 19.8% (n = 16). The proportion of neonates in our service increased over the period. Focused strategies to shorten prolonged ICU stay and decrease rates of bacterial sepsis in neonates are needed. A multidisciplinary, collaborative heart-team approach is crucial for best outcomes.

Clinical implications of respiratory ciliary dysfunction in heterotaxy patients with congenital heart disease: elevated risk of postoperative airway complications.

Cardiac surgery in Congenital Heart Disease-Heterotaxy (CHD-HTX) patients often leads to increased postoperative airway complications. Abnormal respiratory ciliary function, resembling primary ciliary dyskinesia, has been observed. We expanded the sample size by retrospectively reviewing Ciliary Dysfunction (CD) in CHD-HTX patients to verify the increased risk of post-surgical respiratory complications. We conducted a retrospective review of 69 CHD-HTX patients undergoing cardiac surgery, assessing abnormal respiratory function using nasal nitric oxide (nNO) levels and nasal ciliary motion observed in video microscopy. Data collected included demographics, surgical details, postoperative complications, length of stay, ICU hours, salvage procedures, intubation duration, and mortality. The CD and no-CD cohorts exhibited notable similarities in risk adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) risk categories, age at the time of surgery, and the duration of follow-up evaluations. We observed a trend toward an increased length of post-operative stay in the CD group (15.0 vs. 14.0; P = 0.0017). CHD-HTX patients with CD showed significantly higher rates of respiratory complications (70% vs. 44.4%; P = 0.008). There were no notable variances observed in postoperative hospitalization duration, mechanical ventilation period, or surgical mortality. Our findings suggest that CHD-HTX patients with CD may face an elevated risk of respiratory complications. These results offer guidance for perioperative management and serve as a reference for further pathological studies.

Factors Associated with Growth in a Cohort of Children with Complex Biventricular Congenital Heart Disease

ObjectivesTo evaluate patterns and determinants of longitudinal growth among children requiring complex biventricular repair for congenital heart disease, and to assess for associations of growth with early feeding modality, comorbidities, postoperative complications, and socioeconomic characteristics. Study DesignA single-institution retrospective cohort study was performed in children born 2/1999-3/2009 with complex congenital heart disease who underwent biventricular repair before age 4, defined by Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) category 3-5. Clinical characteristics, height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) from ages 2-12 were collected by chart review. Neighborhood-level socioeconomic data were identified using a geographic information system approach. The adjusted association of covariates with growth outcomes was estimated using multivariable linear regression models using generalized estimating equations. ResultsCompared with population growth curves, the cohort (n = 150) trended toward early decrease in age-adjusted weight and height. Early tube feeding was significantly associated with decreased BMI prior to adolescence (-0.539; 95% CI -1.02, -0.054; p = 0.029). Additionally, other clinical and perioperative characteristics had significant associations with growth, including low birthweight, preoperative tube feeds, need for multiple bypass runs, and diagnosis of feeding disorder. ConclusionsEarly childhood growth in children with complex biventricular repair may be impaired. Early tube feeding was associated with decreased BMI over the course of early childhood, which may indicate a need for continued close nutrition follow-up and support even beyond the duration of tube feeds.

Predicting Surgical Mortality After Congenital Heart Surgeries Using Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) Risk Scoring System: A Retrospective Analysis in A Single Tertiary Center

Objective: The main objective of our study was to analyze the in-hospital mortality in children who underwent surgery for congenital heart defects in a single tertiary cardiac center in Nepal using RACHS-1 risk score during 6 year period. Methods: After approval from Institutional Review Board, retrospective data analysis were performed from June 2013 to June 2019 at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Centre. Patients younger than 14 years, who underwent cardiac surgery for congenital heart defects, were enrolled. Data from patient records regarding the age, gender, weight, diagnosis, procedures performed, cardio‑pulmonary bypass (CPB) time and aortic cross‑clamp (AoX) were obtained. The operations were classifed according to the six RACHS-1 categories and patients were allotted to RACHS-1 categories retrospectively by matching the procedure of each patient with a risk category. Results: Two thousand four hundred and seventeen patients underwent surgeries for congenital heart diseases who were classifed according to the RACHS‑1 score. Among the patients, 56.1 % were male and 20.1 % were younger than one year of age. The mortality was 1.5%,13.3%, 21.7% and 73.4% for category 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. The overall ability of the RACHS‑1 classifcation to predict in‑hospital mortality Area under the ROC curve was 0.736 with 95% confdence interval (CI) of 0.709-0.763. Conclusion: The RACHS‑1 classification is applicable to our pediatric populations which was a useful and easily applicable tool, requiring only very few data for mortality risk in our hospital although there are other factors that have an impact on the mortality.

Epidemiological characteristics and trends in postoperative death in children with congenital heart disease (CHD): a single-center retrospective study from 2005 to 2020

ObjectivesTo analyze the epidemiological characteristics and trends in death after thoracotomy in children with congenital heart disease (CHD).MethodsThe clinical data of children with CHD aged 0–14 years who died after thoracotomy in our hospital from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2020, were retrospectively collected to analyze the characteristics of and trends in postoperative death.ResultsA total of 502 patients (365 males; 72.7%) died from January 1, 2005, to December 31, 2020, with an average of 31 deaths per year. For these patients, the median age was 2.0 months, the median length of hospital stay was 16.0 days, the median postoperative time to death was 5.0 days, and the median risk adjustment in congenital heart surgery-1 (RACHS-1) score was 3.0. 29.5% underwent emergency surgery, 16.9% had postoperative ECMO support, and 15.9% received postoperative blood purification treatment. In the past 16 years, the deaths of children with CHD under 1 year old accounted for 80.5% of all deaths among children with CHD aged 0–14 years, and deaths (349 cases) under 6 kg accounted for 69.5% of all deaths. Age at death, weight, and disease type were characterized by annual changes.ConclusionsThe postoperative deaths of children with CHD mainly occurred in infants and toddlers who weighed less than 6.0 kg, and TGA and PA were the most lethal CHDs. The proportion of deaths has been increasing across the years among patients who are young, have a low body weight, and have complex cyanotic CHD.

Assessing Risk Factors for Prolonged Intensive Care Unit Stay After Surgery for Adult Congenital Heart Disease: A Study From a Lower-Middle-Income Country.

Background Prolonged post-surgery intensive care unit (ICU) stay for congenital heart disease (CHD) has been explored in the pediatric population. However, there is limited data for adult CHD (ACHD), also called grown-up congenital heart (GUCH) disease, especially in low-resource countries where intensive care beds are scarce. This study identifies factors associated with prolonged ICU stay following surgery for ACHD in Pakistan, a lower-middle-income country (LMIC). Methods This retrospective study included all adult patients (⩾18 years) who underwent cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass for their CHD from 2011-2016 at a tertiary-care private hospital in Pakistan. Prolonged ICU stay was defined as stay >6 days (75th percentile). Regression analysis was used to explore risk factors of prolonged ICU stay. Results A total of 166 patients (53.6% males) with a mean age of 32.05 ± 12.11 years were included. Atrial septal defect repair was the most common surgery (42.2%). Most patients were categorized as Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 1 (RACHS-1) Category 1 (51.8%) and Category 2 (30.1%). Forty-three of 166 patients (25.9%) experienced prolonged ICU stay. Complications occurred in 38.6% of patients postoperatively, with the most common being acute kidney injury (29.5%). On multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, and RACHS-1 categories, intraoperative inotrope score, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time duration of mechanical ventilation, and postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI) were associated with prolonged ICU stay. Conclusion Surgeons managing ACHD in LMICs must strive for shorter operative durations and the judicious use of intraoperative inotropes in addition to anticipating and promptly managing postoperative complications such as AKI, to minimize ICU stay in countries where intensive care beds are a scarce resource.

Incidence of neurological complications following pediatric heart surgery and its association with neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio.

Due to increased rate of open-heart surgeries in children, postsurgical mortality and morbidities have increasingly gained attention. Neurological complications are some of the most important postsurgical events. However, the number of studies regarding postsurgical neurological complications seems to be inadequate. We aimed to study the incidence of neurological complications following cardiac surgery in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) of the children's medical center. This cross-sectional study was conducted from March to September 2019. We included all of the children who underwent cardiac surgery and were admitted to ICU at CMC. We collected their demographic data, lab test results (white blood cell count, absolute neutrophile and lymphocyte counts) and calculated their Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) score. We then documented neurological adverse events and investigated the associations between those events and the patients' data. Of the 267 studied patients, 14 developed neurological complications (5.2%); seven developed chorea (2.6%), four developed seizures (1.5%), and two developed both seizure and chorea (0.7%). One case developed subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We observed that age (p = 0.000), weight (p = 0.000), and RACHS score (p = 0.006) were associated with the development of neurological complications. Additionally, we observed that "neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio" was not associated with the risk of postsurgical neurological complications. Younger age, lower weight, and higher RACHS score were associated with neurological complications after operations. Given the importance of postsurgical neurological complications, further investigations should be carried out to cover this issue and discover preventive strategies for such morbidities.

The characteristics of blood transfusion and analysis of preoperative factors associated with intraoperative blood transfusion in congenital heart surgery: a case–control study

PurposeBlood transfusion is a common and life-saving procedure in congenital heart surgery (CHS), and it is critical for patients to identify risk factors prior to surgery. Our objective is to conduct an analysis of the preoperative factors that influence blood use during CHS and to offer guidance on preoperative blood preparation.MethodsA total of 1550 cases were retrospectively analyzed in our institution between May 2019 and June 2020. We determined whether to employ red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, and plasma as dependent variables; we treated the data from characteristics and laboratory tests as binary data, except for the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) methods as multinomial data, and finally taken into binary logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe total amounts of transfused RBCs, platelets, and plasma were 850.5 U (N = 713, 46%), 159 U (N = 21, 1.4%), and 1374.2 U (N = 953, 61.5%), respectively. Multivariate analysis found age (OR 0.142, 95% CI 0.099–0.203, P < 0.001), weight (0.170, 0.111–0.262, P < 0.001) RACHS method (RACHS2 vs. RACHS1, 3.444, 2.521–4.704, P < 0.001; RACHS3 vs. RACHS1, 9.333, 4.731–18.412, P < 0.001; RACHS4 vs. RACHS1, 31.327, 2.916–336.546, P = 0.004), and hemoglobin (0.524, 0.315–0.871, P = 0.013) to be independent risk predictors of RBC transfused volume; age (9.911, 1.008–97.417, P = 0.049), weight (0.029, 0.003–0.300, P = 0.029), RACHS method (RACHS3 vs. RACHS1, 13.001, 2.482–68.112, P = 0.002; RACHS4 vs. RACHS1, 59.748, 6.351–562.115, P < 0.001) to be platelets; and age (0.488, 0.352–0.676, P < 0.001), weight (0.252, 0.164–0.386, P < 0.001), RACHS method (RACHS2 vs. RACHS1, 2.931, 2.283–3.764, P < 0.001; RACHS3 vs. RACHS1, 10.754, 4.751–24.342, P < 0.001), APTT (1.628, 1.058–2.503, P = 0.027), and PT (2.174, 1.065–4.435, P = 0.033) to be plasma.ConclusionAlthough patients' age, weight, routine blood test, coagulation function, and protein levels should all be considered for preparing blood before CHS, the RACHS method is the most important factor influencing intraoperative blood transfused volume and should be considered first in clinical blood preparation.

Determinants of Acute Kidney Injury in Children Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass: Single-Center Experience in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) is a machine used in open cardiac surgeries and has been linked to many complications, one of which is acute kidney injury (AKI). Also, the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) criteria are used to diagnose AKI in the pediatric population. The study aimed to investigatethe association between cardiopulmonary bypass duration and renal function impairment in pediatric patients who had cardiac surgery. Methods Thiswas an observational, cross-sectional study conducted at the King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Faisal Cardiac Center, the section of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, from January 2016 to December 2019. Patients younger than 14 years old, those having a cardiac surgery where CPB was implemented, normal pre-operative kidney functions, and having a cardiac surgery longer than 60 minutes (min) were included. The exclusion criteria were patients known to have pre-operative renal impairment and patients with pre-operative hemodynamic instability or cardiac arrest. Demographics ofpre-operative, intra-operative, andpost-operativedatawere extracted, and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) was used for analysis. For descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages for qualitative data were examined, while mean and standard deviation (SD) or median and interquartile range (IQR) quantitativedata were used accordingly. Student's t-test,Mann-Whitney(median test), chi-square, or Fisher's exact tests were used for univariate analysis accordingly. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine significant predictors for developing AKI. A p-value of <0.05 would be considered significant. Results Of the 111 patients,87 patients were included in the analysis. The median age was six months, IQR two to 13 months, body mass index (BMI) mean of 13.8, and SD 3.6. There was similar sex distribution, male 47.1% vs. female 52.9%. There were no patients in Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) who scored 5 or 6. The AKI prevalence was 31% (27/87) within three days after surgery. One patient had stage 2 AKI; the rest were mild. One patient (3.7%) died. The CPB time was significantly longer in patients who developed AKI 150 (104-202), vs. non-AKI 104(82-142) min, p=0.004. In the AKI group, the mean baseline (pre-operative) serum creatinine (sCr) was significantly lower, whereas, it was significantly higher at 24 hours (h), and 48 hpost-operation (p=0.001, 0.001, and 0.036, respectively). Additionally, the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) was significantly higher in the AKI group at 24 h(p=0.007). In logistical regression analysis, CPB time (per minunit time) was a significant predictor for developing AKI, OR 1.015, p=0.011 as a measured outcome. However, only CPB time >180 minwas highly significant with OR 16.2, p=00.6 compared to CPB time 121-180 minOR 2.3, p=0.29 and CPB time 91-120 minOR 1.2, p=0.84. Conclusion Acute kidney injury is an expected complication of pediatric congenital heart surgery receiving CPB. Although in our single-center experience, CPB duration was a significant predictor for AKI; however, it is considered a mild complication that does not contribute significantly to short-term morbidity or mortality. A larger multicenter, national prospective data registryis recommended to explore long-term effects.

2156. Impact of Asymptomatic Upper Respiratory Viral Shedding in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgical Patients

Abstract Background Intraoperative and postoperative complications associated with symptomatic upper respiratory infections in young children are well-documented; however, asymptomatic upper respiratory viral shedding is frequent and may be prolonged. Necessary pediatric cardiac surgical procedures could be delayed with recognition of asymptomatic viral shedding. This study aimed to assess if a positive preoperative respiratory viral panel PCR (+ RVP) impacted postoperative length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) or hospital and assessed for an association among + RVP and adverse clinical events. Methods Patients &amp;lt; 3 years old presenting to a freestanding children’s hospital for cardiothoracic surgery from March 2018-March 2020 were enrolled. Within 24 hours before surgery, an RVP via nasopharyngeal swab for PCR was collected from subjects. Chart review was completed after hospital discharge. Mean difference between RVP status and length of stay for PICU and hospital was assessed with an independent, two group, sample t-test. Logistic regression was used to test association between RVP status and adverse clinical events (VAP, SSI, prolonged fever, ventilator use, or antibiotics), adjusted by complexity of surgical procedure using the Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) score. Results There were 95 subjects included, approximately 50% female, 75% Caucasian; 39% had + RVP (Table 1). There was no statistical association between RVP status and length of PICU (p=0.35) or hospital stay (p=0.28) (Table 2). Odds ratio for extubation in the operating room was significantly associated with +RVP, though small sample size and wide confidence intervals limit generalizability of this observation (Table 3). There were no clinically significant associations between RVP status and adverse events. Table 1.Subject DemographicsTable 2.Mean Difference in Length of Stay by RVP StatusTable 3.Odds Ratios of Clinical Adverse Events by RVP status Conclusion This limited, single-center study suggests that preoperative RVPs in pediatric cardiac surgery candidates identified asymptomatic viral shedding in 39%, though provided no detectable clinical benefit. Larger studies are needed to fully explore specific adverse clinical events and individual viral pathogen impacts. Institutional policies requiring preoperative RVP screening for pediatric cardiac surgery should be discouraged. Disclosures Kari Simonsen, MD, MBA, MedImmune: Grant/Research Support|Melinta Therapeutics: Grant/Research Support|Pfizer: Grant/Research Support.

Machine Learning Model for Predicting Risk of In-Hospital Mortality after Surgery in Congenital Heart Disease Patients.

A machine learning model was developed to estimate the in-hospital mortality risk after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery in pediatric patient. Patients with CHD who underwent surgery were included in the study. A Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model was constructed based onsurgical risk stratification and preoperative variables to predict the risk of in-hospital mortality. We compared the predictive value of the XGBoost model with Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) and Society of Thoracic Surgery-European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (STS-EACTS) categories. A total of 24,685 patients underwent CHD surgery and 595 (2.4%) died in hospital. The area under curve (AUC) of the STS-EACTS and RACHS-1 risk stratification scores were 0.748 [95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.707-0.789, p 0.001] and 0.677 (95% CI: 0.627-0.728, p 0.001), respectively. Our XGBoost model yielded the best AUC (0.887, 95% CI: 0.866-0.907, p 0.001), and sensitivity and specificity were 0.785 and 0.824, respectively. The top 10 variables that contribute most to the predictive performance of the machine learning model were saturation of pulse oxygen categories, risk categories, age, preoperative mechanical ventilation, atrial shunt, pulmonary insufficiency, ventricular shunt, left atrial dimension, a history of cardiac surgery, numbers of defects. The XGBoost model was more accurate than RACHS-1 and STS-EACTS in predicting in-hospital mortality after CHD surgery in China.

Analysis of clinical features of neonates with congenital heart disease who develop necrotizing enterocolitis: a retrospective case-control study.

BackgroundInfants with congenital heart disease (CHD) are known to have higher rates of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Although the etiology is recognized as distinct from the premature neonatal population, there is not a universal consensus regarding etiology or specific risk factors. To analyze the clinical features of neonates with CHD who develop NEC.MethodsA retrospective study of neonates with CHD in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) between 2015 and 2018 was performed, and modified Bell’s criteria were used to diagnose NEC. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to ductal-dependent (DD) lesions, and were further stratified by Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) score and Aristotle score, to compare the differences.ResultsAmong 412 patients with CHD, 69 (16%) developed NEC. The incidence of NEC was notably higher among DD patients than among non-DD (nDD) patients (18.7% vs. 11.1%; P=0.04). Patients with RACHS-1 >2 also had a higher rate of NEC than did those with RACHS-1 ≤2 (19.49% vs. 9.29%; P=0.01). nDD patients who developed NEC were younger, had a lower gestational age (36.25±1.88 vs. 38.10±1.28 weeks; P=0.00), a lower weight (2.86±0.85 vs. 3.33±0.55 kg; P=0.01), and a lower birth weight (2.79±0.79 vs. 3.26±0.55; P=0.01) compared to the DD group. All nDD patients developed NEC after congenital heart surgery, while only 38 cases (76%), NEC occurred after heart surgery in the DD group. Four patients needed surgery for NEC in the DD group and RACHS-1 >2 group. Presence of NEC was not associated with an increased risk of mortality in any group.ConclusionsNEC is a common complication in neonates with CHD and can occur both before and after CHD operations. Likely there are varying mechanism for NEC in different forms of CHD. While NEC is more common in patients with DD CHD and those with more complex forms of CHD, there was no significant difference observed in weight-for-age Z-score (WAZ) between the DD group during follow-up.

Patterns and Determinants of Change in Cortisol Levels and Thyroid Function as a Function of Cardiac Risk in Children Undergoing Cardiac Surgery.

Background Children undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) are exposed to the risk of hormonal imbalances resulting from acute stress, which may eventually result in high postoperative mortality and morbidity. Objective We assessed adrenal and thyroid hormonal changes and their determinants following cardiac surgery in children and explored their prognostic value in predicting cardiac outcomes. Study Design and Methods. A prospective cohort study was conducted at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH), between 2017 and 2018. The study involved 46 children aged 14 years or younger who underwent elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Serum levels of cortisol, TSH, fT3, and fT4 were measured preoperatively and 24, 48, and 72 hours after surgery. The cardiac risk was assessed using the risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery (RACHS) scale. A composite cardiovascular outcome was analyzed as a numerical variable and calculated as the number of cardiovascular events. Results Overall, the changes in thyroid function parameters resulted in a U-shaped curve, while cortisol levels yielded a bell-shaped curve. The most significant changes occurred at 24 hours postop, including a decrease in mean TSH by 2.08 μIU/L (p < 0.001), fT3 by 2.39 pmol/L (p < 0.001), and fT4 by 2.45 pmol/L (p < 0.001) and an increase in cortisol levels by 406.48 nmol/L (p < 0.001) with respect to the baseline. Cortisol concentration peaked higher and recovered slower among patients with high cardiac risk than their counterparts. Cardiovascular outcomes were independently predicted by the extent of the decline in fT4 and TSH at 48 and 72 hours postop, with reference to the baseline, and by the cortisol level at 24 h postop, independent of the baseline, besides the RACHS category. Conclusion Cardiac surgery among children yields a high adrenocortical response and a high incidence of nonthyroidal illness syndrome, increasing cardiovascular risk. A preventive management strategy involves improving surgical techniques to minimize trauma-related stress.

Pediatric Patients Undergoing a Fontan Operation or with a High RACHS-1 Score Require Monitoring for Chronic Kidney Disease in Early Childhood.

Although the number of pediatric patients with long-term survival following cardiac surgery is increasing, concerns regarding chronic kidney disease (CKD) after surgery are growing. We examined the frequency of and risk factors for pediatric CKD development in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) at least 2years after cardiac surgery. This was a cross-sectional study of 147 patients who underwent open-heart surgery for CHD at Kagoshima University Hospital from April 2010 to March 2017. Data on demographics, acute kidney injury after cardiac surgery, cyanotic heart disease, Fontan circulation, medications in the perioperative period, and Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) category were recorded. CKD was defined using the current classification system described in the National Kidney Foundation's Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative and assessed during early childhood within 2-3years of cardiac surgery. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS Statistics for Windows version 25.0. We consecutively enrolled 147 patients, of whom 22 (15.0%) had CKD, all with stage-2 severity. Among patients with CKD, a higher proportion underwent Fontan surgery (P < 0.001), a higher proportion had cyanotic heart disease (P = 0.009), and the RACHS-1 category was high (P = 0.003). Patients with CKD appeared more frequently than patients without CKD in RACHS-1 categories 3, 5, and 6. It is essential to evaluate renal function longitudinally and monitor for CKD, given that patients who underwent Fontan surgery or complicated surgery in infancy have a high rate of developing postoperative CKD in early childhood.

Hemostatic efficacy of pathogen-reduced platelets in children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

Pediatric patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) often require blood component transfusions. Pathogen-reduction (PR) of platelets reduces the risk of microbial contamination; however, its effect on hemostatic efficacy in this population is unclear. This study sought to characterize the hemostatic efficacy of PR platelets in children undergoing CPB. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit following CPB surgery from 2015 to 2019. Demographic data, validated scoring of repair complexity, products received, and outcomes were compared. The primary outcome was postoperative chest tube bleeding. A total of 140 patients were enrolled. The majority of surgeries (124/140) were Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) 1-3 repairs. Seventy-four percent of patients (104/140) received only standard platelets whereas 26% (36/140) received PR platelets. There were no differences between the groups in the age (p= .90), sex (p= .20) or RACHS score (p= .06). Postoperatively, there was no difference in the median chest tube output for 1h (p= .27), 2h (p= .26), 4h (p= .09), 8h (p= .16), or for the first 24 h following surgery (p= .23) in patients who received standard versus PR platelets. There was also no difference in receipt of platelets (p= .18), cell saver (p= .79), or cryoprecipitate (p= .28). Patients receiving PR platelets did not have more blood loss or require more transfusions than those who received standard platelets. This suggests that PR platelets may provide acceptable hemostasis with the additional benefits of reduced risk of microbial contamination in pediatric patients undergoing CPB.

Risk factors for acute kidney injury after pediatric cardiac surgery: a meta-analysis.

Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in both adults and children. This study aimed to identify clinical risk factors for AKI following cardiac surgery in the pediatric population. PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, and reference lists of relevant articles were searched for studies published by August 2020. Studies were included if (1) the population consisted of pediatric patients (< 18years old), (2) patients underwent cardiac surgery, (3) risk factors were compared between patients who developed AKI and those who did not, and (4) studies were prospective or retrospective observational studies or randomized controlled trials. Children undergoing pediatric cardiac surgery. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed, comparing potential risk factors between pediatric patients who developed CS-AKI and those who did not. Sixty-one publications including a total of 19,680 participants (AKI: 7257 participants; no AKI: 12,423 participants) were included from studies published between 2008 and 2020. The pooled estimated incidence of AKI was 34.3% (95% confidence interval 30.0-38.8%, I2 = 96.8%). Binary risk factors that were significantly and consistently associated with AKI were the presence of pulmonary hypertension, cyanotic heart disease, univentricular heart, risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery 1 (RACHS-1) score ≥ 3, vasopressor use, cardiopulmonary bypass use, reoperation, and sepsis. Significant continuous risk factors included younger age, lower body weight, lower preoperative creatinine, higher preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), higher RACHS-1 score, longer surgery time, longer cardiopulmonary bypass time, longer aortic cross-clamp time, and higher red blood cell transfusion volume. Results are limited by heterogeneity and potential residual confounding. Our meta-analysis identified clinical risk factors that are associated with AKI in children undergoing cardiac surgery. This might help clinicians anticipate and manage more carefully this population and implement standardized preventive strategies. CRD42021262699. A higher resolution version of the Graphical abstract is available as Supplementary information.

Preoperative thyroid hormone levels predict ICU mortality after cardiopulmonary bypass in congenital heart disease patients younger than 3 months old

BackgroundWe aimed to study the effectiveness of preoperative thyroid hormone levels in predicting intensive care unit (ICU) mortality after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD).MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed and analyzed data from 133 patients younger than 3 months old who underwent cardiac surgery with CPB from June 2017 to November 2019. ICU mortality prediction was assessed by multivariate binary logistic regression analysis and area under the curve (AUC) analysis.ResultsNon-survivors were younger (17.46 ± 17.10 days vs. 38.63 ± 26.87 days, P = 0.006), with a higher proportion of neonates (9/13 vs. 41/120, P = 0.017) and a higher proportion of individuals with a Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) score ≥ 4 (8/13 vs. 31/120, P = 0.020). No significant difference was found in CPB and aortic cross-clamping (ACC) time. The levels of free triiodothyronine (FT3) (3.91 ± 0.99 pmol/L vs. 5.11 ± 1.55 pmol/L, P = 0.007) and total triiodothyronine (TT3) (1.55 ± 0.35 nmol/L vs. 1.90 ± 0.57 nmol/L, P = 0.032) were higher in survivors than in non-survivors. In the ICU mortality prediction assessment, FT3 was an independent mortality predictor and showed a high AUC (0.856 ± 0.040).ConclusionsThe preoperative FT3 level was a powerful and independent predictor of ICU mortality after CPB in infants with CHD younger than 3 months old.

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic in a Pediatric and Congenital Cardiovascular Surgery Program in Brazil.

Introduction:The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has negatively impacted healthcare services worldwide. We hypothesized that the pandemic would affect our case mix and mortality. Our objective was to study this impact.Methods:We retrospectively studied all patients who underwent congenital heart surgeries from March 21st to August 21st in 2019 and 2020 using the institutional electronic database. We compared demographic data, preoperative and postoperative length of stay (LOS), risk stratification using Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) classification and outcomes in both periods.Results:We observed a 66.7% decrease in our surgical volume (285 × 95 patients). Patients operated in the pre-pandemic period were older (911.3 [174.8 - 5953.8] days-old) compared to the pandemic period (275 days-old; P<0.05). When the case mix was compared between periods, the percentage of neonatal surgery was increased in the pandemic era (8% × 21.1%; P<0.05), and the number of RACHS 1-2 surgeries decreased significantly (60.7 × 27.4%; P<0.05). Preoperative LOS was increased in the pandemic period (1.2 × 7 days; P=0.001). There was no significant increment in mortality (P=0.1). Two patients tested positive for COVID-19 in the postoperative period and both died.Conclusion:Our program observed a sudden decrease in surgical volume and a consequent increase in surgical complexity. There was a non-significant increment in mortality.

RACHS-1 score as predictive factor for postoperative ventilation time in children with congenital heart disease.

Congenital heart disease is the most frequent malformation in newborns. The postoperative mortality of these patients can be assessed with the Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1) score. This study evaluates whether the RACHS-1 score can also be used as a predictor for the length of postoperative ventilation and what is the influence of age. In a retrospective study over the period from 2007 to 2013, all patient records were evaluated: 598 children with congenital heart disease and cardiac surgery were identified and 39 patients have been excluded because of additional comorbidities. For evaluation of mortality, 559 patients could be analysed, after exclusion of 39 deceased patients, 520 cases remained for analysis of postoperative ventilation. Overall mortality was 7% with a dependency on RACHS-1 categories. The median length of postoperative ventilation rose according to the RACHS-1 categories: RACHS-1 category 1: 9 hours (interquartile range (IQR) 7-13 hours), category 2: 30 hours (IQR 12-85 hours), category 4: 58 hours (IQR 13-135 hours), category 4: 71 hours (IQR 29-165 hours), and category 6: 189 hours (IQR 127-277 hours). Some of the RACHS-1 subgroups differed significantly from the categories, especially the repair of tetralogy of Fallot with a longer ventilation time and strong variability. Younger age was an independent factor for longer postoperative ventilation. RACHS-1 is a good predictor for the length of postoperative ventilation after cardiac surgery with the exception of some subgroups. Younger age is another independent factor for longer postoperative ventilation. These data provide better insight into ventilation times and allow better planning of operations in terms of available intensive care beds.

Functional deficit in children with congenital heart disease undergoing surgical correction after intensive care unit discharge.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the functional status of pediatric patients undergoing congenital heart surgery after discharge from the intensive care unit, and to evaluate the correlations among clinical variables, functional status and surgical risk.MethodsCross-sectional study including patients aged 1 month to less than 18 years undergoing congenital heart surgery between October 2017 and May 2018. Functional outcome was assessed by the Functional Status Scale, surgical risk classification was determined using the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (RACHS-1), and clinical variables were collected from electronic medical records.ResultsThe sample comprised 57 patients with a median age of 7 months (2 - 17); 54.4% were male, and 75.5% showed dysfunction, which was moderate in 45.6% of the cases. RACHS-1 category > 3 was observed in 47% of the sample, indicating higher surgical risk. There was a correlation between functional deficit and younger age, longer duration of invasive mechanical ventilation and longer intensive care unit stay. Moreover, greater functional deficit was observed among patients classified as RACHS-1 category > 3.ConclusionThe prevalence of functional deficit was high among children and adolescents with congenital heart disease after cardiac surgery. Higher surgical risk, longer duration of invasive mechanical ventilation, longer intensive care unit stay and younger age were correlated with worse functional status.