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Grown-up Congenital Heart Surgery in 1093 Consecutive Cases: A ‘Hidden’ Burden of Early Outcome
Abstract
Background
Surgery in grown-ups with congenital heart disease (GUCH) is characterized by complex anatomy, comorbidities, reoperations, and technical challenges. While 30-day postoperative mortality is low, this measure might be insufficient to reflect adverse outcome monitoring. Our study aimed to establish whether prolonged intensive care unit (ICU) stay (≥7 days) and 6-month mortality were more clinically meaningful measures than 30-day mortality and to identify predictors of adverse outcome.
Methods
All consecutive GUCH patients from 1998 to 2015 were identified. Perioperative characteristics, diagnoses, and postoperative data were collected retrospectively. Predictors of 30-day, 6-month mortality, and prolonged ICU stay were determined with logistic regression. Era effect was tested for quality assurances by dividing the cohort into four time intervals.
Results
Within 17 years, 1093 consecutive cardiac surgical procedures were identified in 1026 GUCH patients. Thirty-day mortality improved significantly over the study period, with an overall 30-day mortality of 1.5%. Six-month mortality and prolonged ICU stay were 2.4% and 6.7% respectively. Despite a decreased number of preoperative patients in NYHA class ≥3, prolonged ICU stay increased over the eras. Predictors of adverse outcome were; NYHA class ≥3, preoperative renal failure, disease of great complexity, preoperative ventilator support, cardiopulmonary bypass time, and concomitant procedures.
Conclusions
In the current era of low 30-day mortality, extended 6-month mortality and prolonged ICU stay reporting may be more realistic measures of adverse outcomes for counseling GUCH patients at risk.
... Although this approach still requires a sternotomy, the extent of surgical dissection required is less than that needed for CPB [16,17,19]. For the adult CHD patient, well documented are the deleterious effects of repeat CPB events and vast concurrent morbidities of this population undergoing PVR [40][41][42][43][44]. Due to the inherent advantages of hybrid PVR, we transitioned to utilizing this methodology when transcatheter PVR is technically unable to be performed. ...
Background: Pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) can be accomplished via surgical, transcatheter, or hybrid approaches. There are inherent advantages to transcatheter PVR and hybrid PVR without cardiopulmonary bypass. We review the methods and results of a standardized institutional approach to PVR. Methods: Retrospective review of all PVR cases between February 2017 and February 2020. Hybrid PVR entailed off-pump RVOT plication with percutaneous transcatheter PVR. Results: Primary transcatheter PVR was attempted in 37, hybrid PVR was performed in 11, and on-pump surgical PVR was performed in 9. Median age at PVR was 27 years (6– 65). Primary transcatheter PVR was successful in 35/37 (2 converted to surgical). Standard surgical PVR was uti-lized for positive coronary compression testing (n = 4), stent/valve system migration (n = 2), or patient preference (n = 3). In the hybrid group mean RVOT diameter was 34 mm (32–38). Median length of stay was 1 day for transcatheter PVR, 5 for surgical, and 3 for hybrid (p = 0.02). Median follow-up was 1.5 years. Re-interventions were one balloon valve dilation in a transcatheter PVR, and one valve dilation with subsequent transcatheter val ve-i n-val ve PVR i n the surgi cal cohort. One hybri d pati ent expi red 11 months post procedure. Conclusions: A systematic approach to PVR utilizing all approaches in pre-defined order of preference leads to consistent outcomes in a wide variety of anatomic configurations. Transcatheter PVR may be accomplished in the majority of patients. When necessary, hybrid off-pump RVOT plication with transcatheter PVR avoids the need for cardiopulmonary bypass.
... Despite the evolution in perioperative care of adult congenital heart patients in recent years, CPB and cross-clamp times are still being identified as independent predictors of negative outcomes, as demonstrated by Haapanen et al. [14]. In their cohort of 1093 consecutive patients (from 1998 to 2015), including 280 PVRs in patients with TOF, CPB time was a predictor in both multivariate logistic regression (OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06-1.16; ...
OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to compare results between a standard computed tomography (CT)-based strategy, the ‘three-step preopera- tive sequential planning’ (3-step PSP), for pulmonary valve replacement in repaired tetralogy of Fallot versus a conventional planning approach.
METHODS: We carried out a retrospective study with unmatched and matched groups. The 3-step PSP comprised the planning of medi- astinal re-entry, cannulation for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and the main procedure, using standard 3-dimensional videos. Operative times (skin incision to CPB, CPB time, end of CPB to skin closure and cross-clamp time) as well as postoperative length of stay and in- hospital mortality were compared.
RESULTS: Eighty-two patients (49% classical tetralogy of Fallot) underwent an operation (85% with pulmonary homograft) with 1.22% in- hospital mortality. The 3-step PSP (n = 14) and the conventional planning (n = 68) groups were compared. There were no statistically signifi- cant differences in the preoperative characteristics. Differences were observed in the total operative time (P = 0.009), skin incision to CPB (P = 0.034) and cross-clamp times (74 ± 33 vs 108 ± 47 min; P = 0.006), favouring the 3-step PSP group. Eight matched pairs were compared showing differences in the total operative time (263 ± 44 vs 360 ± 66 min; P = 0.008), CPB time (123 ± 34 vs 190 ± 43 min; P = 0.008) and postoperative length of stay (P = 0.031), favouring the 3-step PSP group.
CONCLUSIONS: In patients with repaired tetralogy of Fallot undergoing pulmonary valve replacement, preoperative planning using a standard CT-based strategy, the 3-step PSP, is associated with shorter operative times and shorter postoperative length of stay.
Background
Given improved contemporary survival of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD), we aimed to evaluate trends in ACHD surgery and outcomes at a single center over a 27-year period.
Methods
Surgical databases were retrospectively queried for patients >18 years old who underwent ACHD surgery between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 2020. A total of 2,195 included patients underwent 2,425 cardiac surgical procedures within the specified time frame. Patients were grouped by era: I, 1994-2000; 2, 2001-2010; and 3, 2011-2020. Trends in primary cardiac diagnosis and surgical management were evaluated.
Results
The median age increased across the eras. The most common primary cardiac diagnoses (n = 2,425) overall were left ventricular outflow tract anomalies (n = 2,019, 83%), atrial septal defect (n = 407, 17%), right ventricular outflow tract anomalies (n = 360, 15%), and ventricular septal defect (n = 110, 4.5%). The most commonly observed procedures overall were operations on the left ventricular outflow tract (n = 1,633, 67%), aorta (n = 675, 28%), coronary arteries (n = 449, 19%), right ventricular outflow tract (n = 323, 13%), and atrial septal defect (n = 264, 11%). Major complications occurred in 10% of cases, and 58 patients died within 30 days of their operation yielding an operative mortality of 2.4%.
Conclusion
To our knowledge, this is the largest single center report on surgery for adults with congenital heart disease. Surgery for ACHD has been performed at our center with relatively low morbidity and mortality over the last few decades.
In this review we provide a brief description of recently published articles addressing topics relevant to pediatric cardiologists. Our hope is to provide a summary of the latest articles published recently in other journals in our field. The articles address (1) The impact of COVID-19 in individuals with congenital heart disease through the life span. Patients with a genetic syndrome and adults at advanced physiological stage were at highest risk for moderate/severe infection. (2) Echocardiographic findings of the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children showing a high prevalence of myocardial injury and systolic dysfunction that improves in the subacute phase. (3) A score assessment of the Fontan associated liver disease which correlated with the risk for Fontan failure. (4) Grown-up congenital heart surgery in 1093 consecutive cases showed that the 30 day mortality may underestimate the mortaility and that the 6 months mortality is likely a better measure in this population. (5) Cone versus conventional repair for Ebstein’s anomaly showed better midterm results and freedom from tricuspid regurgitation after the cone operation. (6) Association between race/ethnicity, illness severity, and mortality in children undergoing cardiac surgery. The study showed that the African American race associated with increased disease severity and thus higher postoperative mortality compared to the caucausian race.
Background:
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication of cardiac surgery. However, the incidence rate of AKI in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) greatly varies between reports owing to the different definitions used for AKI. Therefore, this study was designed as a meta-analysis aimed at summarizing the incidence rate of AKI in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) on the basis of different AKI criteria.
Methods:
Studies published till April 24, 2020, on the incidence rate of AKI in patients with CHD, were retrieved from electronic databases and printed literature. To pool data from the included studies, the effect size, a combined statistics, was chosen and presented with the incidence rate and 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was evaluated using I2 statistics and Cochran Q test. The incidence rates obtained from the subgroup analysis according to study location, type of surgery, type of cohort, age, and AKI criteria) were also evaluated to determine the correlation of AKI with these factors. Publication bias was estimated using the Egger test.
Results:
Thirty studies, comprising 9925 patients with AKI who had CHD, were included. Overall, the pooled incidence rate of AKI in the patients with CHD was 38.4% (95% CI, 32.0-44.7%). However, the incidence rate was not significantly affected by gender, study location, type of surgery, type of cohort, and AKI criteria. Moreover, age was significantly associated with the incidence of AKI, and the incidence rate was higher in the patients aged < 1 month than in those aged 1 month to 18 years, < 18 years, and ≥ 18 years (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
In this study, the estimated incidence rate of AKI in patients with CHD was 38.4% and may be influenced by age. These findings highlight the importance of further investigation of the specific causes of and effective preventive measures for AKI.
Background
The number of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) is increasing worldwide and most of them will require cardiac surgery, once or more, during their lifetime. The total volume of cardiac surgery in CHD patients at a national level and the associated mortality and predictors of death associated with surgery are not known. We aimed to investigate the surgical volume and associated mortality in CHD patients in England.
Methods
Using a national hospital episode statistics database, we identified all CHD patients undergoing cardiac surgery in England between 1997 and 2015.
Results
We evaluated 57,293 patients (median age 11.9years, 46.7% being adult, 56.7% female). There was a linear increase in the number of operations performed per year from 1,717 in 1997 to 5,299 performed in 2014. The most common intervention at the last surgical event was an aortic valve procedure (9,276; 16.2%), followed by repair of atrial septal defect (9,154; 16.0%), ventricular septal defect (7,746; 13.5%), tetralogy of Fallot (3,523; 6.1%) and atrioventricular septal defect (3,330; 5.8%) repair. Associated mortality remained raised up to six months following cardiac surgery. Several parameters were predictive of post-operative mortality, including age, complexity of surgery, need for emergency surgery and socioeconomic status. The relationship of age with mortality was “U”-shaped, and mortality was highest amongst youngest children and adults above 60 years of age.
Conclusions
The number of cardiac operations performed in CHD patients in England has been increasing, particularly in adults. Mortality remains raised up to 6-months after surgery and was highest amongst young children and seniors.
Twenty years ago our institution published an analysis of a cluster of failures associated with the arterial switch operation (ASO). The concept of 'near miss' was explored to detect warning signs of suboptimal performance. The aim of the current study was to review the parameters best suited to monitoring early ASO outcomes in the modern setting and re-examine the concept of near misses as failure equivalents.
All ASOs performed in our institution between 1983 and 2012 were reviewed. The experience was divided into three eras (1983-92, 1993-2002 and 2003-12). The cumulative sum graphic for sequential monitoring was used for early mortality. The need to re-establish cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), CPB time >240 min and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) were explored as variables of near misses.
The cohort consisted of 606 patients. The 30-day mortality rate was 23% (n = 29) in Era 1, 6% (n = 14) in Era 2 and 1% (n = 3) in Era 3. There were further 4, 8 and 6 deaths between 30 and 90 days in the three eras, respectively. In Era 3, the majority of deaths occurred between 30 and 90 days. In the current era, ECMO and CPB time >240 min as a marker of near miss was associated with an increased risk of death both within 30 days and 90 days after ASO.
The 30-day outcomes of ASO have significantly improved over the last 30 years. As life-saving mechanical support after surgery has been implemented more often, an extended 90-day window of reporting can offer a more realistic outcome indicator of performance.
© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery. All rights reserved.
OBJECTIVES The adult congenital heart disease (CHD) population has surpassed the paediatric CHD population. Half of all mortality caused
by CHD occurs in adulthood; in some patients, it occurs during surgery. We sought to assess the potential risk factors for
adverse outcome after cardiac operations in adults with CHD, and to evaluate the predictive power of the Aristotle score models
for hospital mortality.
Background:
-Adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patients have ongoing morbidity and reduced long-term survival. Recently, the importance of specialized follow-up at tertiary ACHD centres has been highlighted. We aimed to assess survival prospects and clarify causes of death in a large cohort of patients at a single, tertiary centre.
Methods and results:
-We included 6,969 adult patients (age 29.9±15.4 years) under follow-up at our institution between 1991 and 2013. Causes of death were ascertained from official death certificates. Survival was compared with the expected survival in the general age and gender matched population and standardized mortality rates were calculated. Over a median follow-up time of 9.1 years (IQR 5.2-14.5), 524 patients died. Leading causes of death were chronic heart failure (42%), pneumonia (10%), sudden-cardiac death (7%), cancer (6%) and haemorrhage (5%), while perioperative mortality was comparatively low. Isolated simple defects exhibited mortality rates similar to those in the general population, while patients with Eisenmenger syndrome, complex congenital heart disease and Fontan physiology had much poorer long-term survival (P<0.0001 for all). The probability of cardiac death decreased with increasing patient's age, whereas the proportion of patients dying from non-cardiac causes, such as cancer, increased.
Conclusions:
-ACHD patients continue to be afflicted by increased mortality compared to the general population as they grow older. Highest mortality rates were observed amongst patients with complex ACHD, Fontan physiology and Eisenmenger syndrome. Our data provide an overview over causes of mortality and especially the spectrum of non-cardiac causes of death in contemporary ACHD patients.
The population of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD) has increased dramatically over the past few decades, with many people who are now middle-aged and some in the geriatric age range. This improved longevity is leading to increased use of the medical system for both routine and episodic care, and caregivers need to be prepared to diagnose, follow up, and treat the older adult with congenital heart disease (CHD). The predictable natural progression of CHD entities and sequelae of previous interventions must now be treated in the setting of late complications, acquired cardiac disease, multiorgan effects of lifelong processes, and the unrelenting process of aging. Despite the advances in this field, death rates in the population from 20 to >70 years of age may be twice to 7 times higher for the ACHD population than for their peers.1
This American Heart Association (AHA) scientific statement will focus on the older adult (>40 years old) with CHD. It is meant to be complementary to the 2008 American College of Cardiology (ACC)/AHA guidelines for ACHD and orient the reader to the natural history, ramifications of childhood repair, and late initial diagnosis of CHD in the older adult. This population with CHD is unique and distinct from both the pediatric and young adult populations with CHD. Much of the information we provide is from scientific research combined with clinical experience from longitudinal care. We emphasize that this is the beginning of a discussion regarding this rapidly growing population, and continued research aimed at the progression of disease and complications reviewed here is necessary to advance the field of ACHD with the scientific rigor it deserves.
ACHD encompass a broad range of presentations. There are people who are diagnosed for the first time in adulthood, as well as those with prior palliative repair …
Background
The rising prevalence of multimorbid patients undergoing cardiac surgery often leads to prolonged postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) treatment. The fate of these patients after discharge is poorly investigated. This study is aimed to assess survival, functional outcome, and quality of life (QOL) in patients after an ICU stay of at least 5 days. Materials and Methods
Between August 2009 and July 2010, 1,092 patients underwent various cardiac procedures. Of these patients, 119 required ICU treatment of at least 5 days. Preoperative characteristics as well as postoperative course were analyzed and the discharged patients were contacted after 1year to gain information about survival, functional capacity, and QOL. ResultsEuropean system for cardiac operative risk evaluation I of the patients was 22.316.7. Mean ICU stay was 19 +/- 20 days. Forty three patients (36.1%) died in the hospital, 1-year overall survival was 46.2%, and 1-year survival of the discharged patients was 72.4%. Barthel mobility index was 85, showing a satisfactory mobilization. QOL, assessed with short form 12 questionnaire, was comparable with the reference group. Conclusion
Long-term ICU treatment after cardiac surgery is related to a high in-hospital and follow-up mortality. The physical and psychological recovery of the survivors is encouraging, justifying the extensive engagement of hospital resources.
Background:
Patients with congenital heart disease are frequently surviving into adulthood, and many of them will require surgery. Unfortunately, outcome data in this patient population are limited. We aimed to identify risk factors associated with adverse events in adults with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiac surgery and establish long-term survival data.
Methods:
We retrospectively studied 458 adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease between 2000 and 2010. We constructed logistic models to assess risk factors for mortality, major adverse event (stroke, renal failure, prolonged ventilation, prolonged coma, deep sternal infection, reoperation, and operative mortality), and prolonged length of stay (>7 days). Long-term, all-cause mortality was also measured.
Results:
Sixteen patients died (3.49%). Risk factors for mortality included a history of cerebrovascular disease (odds ratio [OR]: 4.51), New York Heart Association (NYHA) class 3 or 4 (OR: 8.88), and surgery on the aorta or the aortic valve (OR: 5.74). Ninety-four patients suffered a major adverse event (20.5%). Significant risk factors were male gender (OR: 2.28), NYHA class of 3 or 4 (OR 2.58), 2 concomitant major operations (OR: 2.15), and cardiopulmonary bypass time of greater than 100 minutes (OR: 3.18). Last, 90 patients (19.7%) remained in the hospital longer than 7 days. Significant risk factors for a prolonged length of stay included chronic lung disease (OR: 3.05), NYHA class of 3 or 4 (OR: 3.69), surgery by an adult cardiac surgeon (OR 2.58), 2 concomitant major operations (OR: 3.28), and cardiopulmonary bypass time of greater than 100 minutes (OR: 2.41). Survival at 1, 5, and 10 years was 97.6%, 95.2%, and 93.4%, respectively.
Conclusions:
Surgery in adults with congenital heart disease can be performed with low morbidity and mortality. Nonetheless, there remain important risk factors for adverse events. Awareness and modification of risk factors may help improve outcomes.
A significant proportion of patients with congenital heart disease require surgery in adulthood. We aimed to give an overview of the prevalence, distribution, and outcome of cardiovascular surgery for congenital heart disease. We specifically questioned whether the effects of surgical treatment on subsequent long-term survival depend on sex.
From the Dutch Congenital Corvitia (CONCOR) registry for adults with congenital heart disease, we identified 10 300 patients; their median age was 33.1 years. Logistic and Cox regression models were used to assess the association of surgery in adulthood with sex and with long-term survival. In total, 2015 patients (20%) underwent surgery for congenital heart disease in adulthood during a median follow-up period of 15.1 years; in 812 patients (40%), it was a reoperation. Overall, both first operations and reoperations in adulthood were performed significantly more often in men compared with women (adjusted odds ratio=1.4 [95% confidence interval, 1.2-1.6] and 1.2 [95% confidence interval, 1.0-1.4], respectively). Patients with their third and fourth or more surgery in adulthood had a 2- and 3-times-higher risk of death compared with patients never operated on (adjusted hazard ratio=1.9 [95% confidence interval, 1.0-3.6] and 2.7 [95% confidence interval, 1.1-6.3], respectively). Men with a reoperation in adulthood had a 2-times-higher risk of death than women (adjusted hazard ratio=1.9; 95% confidence interval, 1.0-3.5).
Of predominantly young adults with congenital heart disease, one fifth required cardiovascular surgery during a 15-year period; in 40%, the surgery was a reoperation. Men with congenital heart disease have a higher chance of undergoing surgery in adulthood and have a consistently worse long-term survival after reoperations in adulthood compared with women.
Early outcomes of congenital heart surgery in neonates have significantly improved during the last decade. Further improvements require identification of specific risk factors correlating with early mortality and morbidity.
Between January 1999 and May 2008 data on 14,843 congenital heart procedures performed in 118 congenital heart surgery centers in 34 countries were submitted to the European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery Congenital Database. Mean age at surgery was 11.8 days and mean body weight was 2.9 kg. Multivariate stepwise regression analysis was used to assess the risk factors for postoperative complications and death.
Thirty-day mortality of 9.1% was significantly different from hospital mortality (10.7%). Postoperative complications occurred in 29.2% of neonates. In multivariate analysis, early death rate was statistically significantly modified by body weight, Aristotle basic score (ABS), cardiopulmonary bypass time (CPB time), aortic cross-clamp time, circulatory arrest time, and univentricular physiology. The rate of complications was associated with ABS, CPB time, and circulatory arrest time.
In neonatal congenital heart surgery significant risk of early death extends beyond 30 postoperative days. Multivariate analysis confirmed that lower body weight, higher ABS, longer CPB time, longer aortic cross-clamp time, longer circulatory arrest time, and univentricular physiology are risk factors for hospital mortality. Higher ABS as well as longer CPB time and circulatory arrest time are associated with the rate of complications.
Reentry injury is a risk associated with repeat sternotomy for cardiac surgery. This risk has been well defined for adults, but there is less information available for patients with congenital heart disease. The goal of this review was to identify the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes for reentry injury in patients with congenital heart disease.
Eight hundred two patients with congenital heart disease had 1,000 consecutive repeat sternotomies between August 2000 and November 2007. Records were reviewed for demographics, history, operative techniques, and outcomes. Univariate risk factors for reentry injury and operative mortality were assessed.
Median age and weight were 2.1 years (range, 0.1 to 34.6 years) and 11 kg (range, 2.5 to 123 kg). There were 639 second, 287 third, and 74 fourth or higher sternotomies. There were 13 reentry injuries (1.3%) involving right ventricle-pulmonary artery conduits (n = 4), aorta or aortic conduits (n = 3), right ventricular outflow tract patches or pseudoaneurysms (n = 3), and others (n = 3). Risk factors for injury were presence of a right ventricle-pulmonary artery conduit (6 of 115 with conduit [5.2%] versus 7 of 885 without [0.8%]; p < 0.001) and sternotomy number (relative risk, 2.28; p < 0.001). Reentry injury was associated with longer procedure times (median, 420 minutes with injury versus 248 without; p < 0.001). Operative mortality occurred in 18 patients and was associated with sternotomy number and procedure time (p < 0.001), but not reentry injury (p = 0.2).
Risk of reentry injury during repeat sternotomy for congenital heart disease is low. Increasing sternotomy number and the presence of a right ventricle-pulmonary artery conduit are risk factors for reentry injury. However, reentry injury is not associated with increased risk of operative mortality.
The risk of repeat sternotomy (RS) is often taken into account when making clinical management decisions. Current literature on RS suggests a risk of approximately 5% to 10% for major morbidity. We sought to establish the true risk of RS in a contemporary pediatric series.
All RS between October 2002 and August 2006 were analyzed (602 RS in 558 patients). Median age was 3.6 years (range, 0.1 to 45.1); weight, 14.2 kg (2.0 to 112.2). Operations performed at RS were Glenn 22% (131), Fontan 21% (129), aortic valve repair/replacement 12% (72), right ventricle-pulmonary artery conduit 11% (67), Rastelli 7% (39), heart transplant 5% (31), and other 22% (133). Forty-seven percent of patients (280) had single-ventricle physiology. Incidence of second sternotomy was 67% (406), third 28% (166), fourth 4% (24), fifth 0.8% (5), and sixth 0.2% (1). A major injury upon RS was defined as one causing hemodynamic instability requiring vasopressor support or emergent transfusion; femoral cannulation or emergent cardiopulmonary bypass; and any morbidity. A minor injury is any other injury during RS.
The incidence of a major injury was not different between RS (0.3%; 2 of 602) and first-time sternotomy (0%; 0 of 1,274; p > 0.1). Incidence of a minor injury was 0.66% (4 of 602). No injury resulted in hemodynamic instability, neurologic injury, or death. Two patients (0.3%) required a nonemergent blood transfusion secondary to injury. (Nonemergent was defined as adminstration rate of less than 0.2 cc/kg/min and less than 10 cc/kg in total.) Femoral cannulation was performed in 4 of 602 RS cases (< 0.6%). Sternal wound infection was 0.5% (3 of 602); reoperation for postoperative bleeding was 1% (8 of 602). Median intensive care unit stay was 3 days (1 to 174); median hospital stay was 7 days (1 to 202). Hospital survival was 98%.
Repeat sternotomy can represent a negligible risk of injury and of subsequent morbidity or mortality. Therefore, the choice of management strategies for patients should not be affected by the need for RS.
An International Nomenclature for Congenital Heart Surgery was officially adopted at the Annual Meeting of the EACTS in Glasgow, UK on September 6, 1999. This nomenclature was achieved following 1 year's work of the International Nomenclature and Data Base Committee for Congenital Heart Surgery of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. This international group included members from the STS, AATS, AHA and EACTS and associated surgeons and cardiologists from United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. The Nomenclature includes a minimal data set of 21 items and lists of 150 diagnoses, 200 procedures, 32 complications and 28 extra cardiac anomalies and preoperative risk factors. It will serve as a basis for the Pediatric European Cardiac Surgical Registry (http://www.pediatric. ecsur.org). The outcome of such an International Nomenclature represents an important event for the medical community in charge of treating patients with congenital heart diseases. It will allow scientific exchanges on an international scale and promote multicenter evaluation of congenital heart surgery. Nevertheless, this Nomenclature is only the first step. Further collection of validated data at the Pediatric ECSUR Data Base requires ethical belief, time consumption and financial resources. Comparison of results, according to pathologies, across centers and countries will help define, in the future, official European standards of Quality of Care available for health care organizations, public scrutiny and governmental agencies.
Grown-ups with congenital heart disease (GUCH) are an increasingly important group of patients, with many requiring reoperations because of late complications or residual defects, correction after palliation, further palliation or heart transplantation.
In order to identify perioperative risk factors, we have retrospectively analysed perioperative mortality and morbidity of 66 consecutive GUCH patients needing reoperations between July 1987 and December 2000 with a mean age of 28+/-12 (14.2-63.5) years and preoperative ejection fraction of 57+/-21%. Primary cardiac defects were LVOT pathology (17 patients), coarctation (10), Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) (9), VSD (9), transposition of the great arteries (TGA) (7), Marfan syndrome (6), ASD (5) and others (3).
Reoperations included various aortic valve procedures (28), aortic replacements (16), ASD/VSD closures (16), conduits (11), RVOT procedures (8), coarctation repair (5), cardiac transplantation (3) or others (8). Early mortality was 7.6%. Serious postoperative complications occurred in 24%. Presence of cyanosis, heart failure, VSD, TGA, pulmonary atresia, correction after palliative surgery and number of previous operations were preoperative risk factors and duration of operation, cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp, core temperature, low output syndrome, use of epinephrine, pneumonia and ARDS, renal failure, dialysis and stroke perioperative risk factors for fatal outcome.
Reoperations in GUCH patients are mostly due to outflow tract lesions, coarctations and TOF. Perioperative risks remain important especially with cyanosis, TGA, pulmonary atresia and poor ventricular function. Therefore, close follow-up, timely referral for re-intervention and adequate perioperative management are mandatory to reduce perioperative risks and improve results.
Quality control is difficult to achieve in Congenital Heart Surgery (CHS) because of the diversity of the procedures. It is particularly needed, considering the potential adverse outcomes associated with complex cases. The aim of this project was to develop a new method based on the complexity of the procedures.
The Aristotle project, involving a panel of expert surgeons, started in 1999 and included 50 pediatric surgeons from 23 countries, representing the EACTS, STS, ECHSA and CHSS. The complexity was based on the procedures as defined by the STS/EACTS International Nomenclature and was undertaken in two steps: the first step was establishing the Basic Score, which adjusts only the complexity of the procedures. It is based on three factors: the potential for mortality, the potential for morbidity and the anticipated technical difficulty. A questionnaire was completed by the 50 centers. The second step was the development of the Comprehensive Aristotle Score, which further adjusts the complexity according to the specific patient characteristics. It includes two categories of complexity factors, the procedure dependent and independent factors. After considering the relationship between complexity and performance, the Aristotle Committee is proposing that: Performance = Complexity x Outcome.
The Aristotle score, allows precise scoring of the complexity for 145 CHS procedures. One interesting notion coming out of this study is that complexity is a constant value for a given patient regardless of the center where he is operated. The Aristotle complexity score was further applied to 26 centers reporting to the EACTS congenital database. A new display of centers is presented based on the comparison of hospital survival to complexity and to our proposed definition of performance.
A complexity-adjusted method named the Aristotle Score, based on the complexity of the surgical procedures has been developed by an international group of experts. The Aristotle score, electronically available, was introduced in the EACTS and STS databases. A validation process evaluating its predictive value is being developed.
Adult patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) are the beneficiaries of successful pediatric cardiac surgery and cardiology programs around the world.¹ Over half of them would have died before reaching adulthood had it not been for surgical intervention in infancy and childhood.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changing risk of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Residents of Oulu who underwent coronary angiography and/or revascularization from 1993 to 2006 formed the basis of this community-wide study. One thousand three hundred and forty-nine consecutive patients who underwent CABG have been included in the analysis on changing operative risk and results after CABG. A significant increase in the operative risk occurred in patients who underwent CABG (mean logistic EuroSCORE in 1278 patients: 1993-1997: 3.7%; 1998-2002: 4.6%; 2003-2006: 5.4%; P<0.0001). Thirty-day mortality decreased during the last period (1993-1997: 2.5%; 1998-2002: 3.0%; 2003-2006: 1.6%; P=0.49). The area under the ROC curve of logistic EuroSCORE (1993-1997: 0.86; 1998-2002: 0.78; 2003-2006: 0.99) for prediction of 30-day postoperative mortality markedly improved during the last study period. Despite the increased operative risk, off-pump coronary surgery was associated with lower immediate postoperative mortality rates. Contrary to on-pump surgery, immediate postoperative death occurred after off-pump surgery only in patients with additive EuroSCORE >or=6. The results of this study suggest that improved perioperative care as well as changes in operative strategy are positively faced with the increased burden of comorbidities and operative risk of patients currently undergoing CABG.
The goal is performance evaluation not outcome prediction
- Lacour-Gayet
Surgery in adults with congenital heart disease: risk factors for morbidity and mortality.
- Kogon B.
- Grudziek J.
- Sahu A.