Diaphragm dysfunction following surgery for congenital heart disease is a known complication leading to delays in recovery and increased post-operative morbidity and mortality. We aimed to determine the incidence of and risk factors associated with diaphragm plication in children undergoing cardiac surgery and evaluate timing to repair and effects on hospital cost and length of stay.

We conducted a multi-institutional retrospective observational cohort study. Forty-three hospitals from the Pediatric Health Information System database were included, and a total of 112,110 patients admitted between January 2004 and December 2014 were analysed.

Patients less than 18 years of age who underwent cardiac surgery were included. Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery was utilized to determine procedure complexity. The overall incidence of diaphragm dysfunction was 2.2% (n = 2513 out of 112,110). Of these, 24.0% (603 patients) underwent diaphragm plication. Higher complexity cardiac surgery (Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 5–6) and age less than 4 weeks were associated with a higher likelihood of diaphragm plication (p-value < 0.01). Diaphragmatic plication was associated with increased hospital length of stay (p-value < 0.01) and increased medical cost.

Diaphragm plication after surgery for congenital heart disease is associated with longer hospital length of stay and increased cost. There is a strong correlation of prolonged time to plication with increased length of stay and medical cost. The likelihood of plication increases with younger age and higher procedure complexity. Methods to improve early recognition and treatment of diaphragm dysfunction should be developed.

Development of pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in patients with cavopulmonary anastomosis may result in a significant morbidity. Although the use of bubble contrast echocardiography with selective injection into both the branch pulmonary arteries in identifying pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas has been increasing, the actual efficacy of this diagnostic modality has not been properly evaluated. Thus, this study aimed to assess the efficacy of bubble contrast echocardiography in detecting pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in children with total cavopulmonary connection.

A total of 140 patients were included. All patients underwent cardiac catheterisation. Bubble contrast echocardiographic studies were performed by injecting agitated saline solution into the branch pulmonary arteries. Transthoracic echocardiograms that use an apical view were conducted to assess the appearance of bubble contrast in the systemic ventricles. Then, the contrast echocardiogram results and other cardiac parameters were compared.

No correlation was found between contrast echocardiogram grade and other cardiac parameters, such as pulmonary capillary wedge saturation and pulmonary artery resistance. Moreover, only 13 patients had negative results on both the right and left contrast echocardiograms, and 127 of the 140 patients had positive results on contrast echocardiograms even though they had normal pulmonary capillary wedge saturation. Results showed that bubble contrast echocardiography was a highly sensitive method and was likely to obtain false-positive results.

Bubble contrast echocardiography might be highly false positive in detecting pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas in patients with cavopulmonary anastomosis. We have to consider how we make use of this method. Further standardisation of techniques is required.

Brucellosis is an important systemic infectious disease, especially in developing countries. Every organ and system of the human body can be affected; however, cardiovascular complications of brucellosis are rare.

To assess cardiac functions in patients with acute brucellosis without overt cardiac involvement and to answer the following question: Is there any cardiac dysfunction despite the absence of endocarditis in these patients?

This cross-sectional study included 67 children with brucellosis and 40 healthy children. We performed a detailed echocardiographic examination in individuals at the beginning of the treatment. Patients with infective endocarditis were excluded from the study.

Echocardiography revealed no difference of ejection fraction, mitral and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion, pulsed-wave Doppler-derived early diastolic peak velocity (E)/late diastolic peak velocity (A) ratios in mitral and tricuspid valves between the two groups. The deceleration time of early mitral inflow was longer in patients with brucellosis. Early diastolic peak velocity of the mitral and tricuspid annuluses obtained by tissue Doppler imaging (Ea) was significantly lower in children with brucellosis. The peak velocity obtained by tissue Doppler imaging during late diastole (Aa), Ea and Ea/Aa ratios in the interventricular septum, left ventricle posterior wall and right ventricle free wall was lower in patients with brucellosis than in the control group. The E/Ea ratio, isovolumic relaxation time, right ventricle and left ventricle myocardial performance indices were higher in patients with brucellosis.

Patients with acute brucellosis may have diastolic dysfunction without overt cardiac involvement and infective endocarditis.

In present study, we aimed to evaluate the changes in valvular regurgitations in mid-term follow-up of children with first attack acute rheumatic fever diagnosed after updated Jones criteria.

The medical records of the children diagnosed with acute rheumatic fever between June 2015 and November 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. When compared to the findings during diagnosis, the changes in the degree of valvular regurgitation in the last visit were coded as same, regressed, or disappeared.

A total of 50 children were diagnosed with the first attack of acute rheumatic fever between the noted dates. Nine patients (18%) could be diagnosed depending on the new criteria. Eight patients did not have carditis, and 35 patients (49 valves) could be followed for a median follow-up period of 11.7 ± 3.3 months. In our study, the valvar lesions continued in 82% of patients with clinical carditis at the end of the first year and the degree of valvular regurgitation decreased in 39% of them. Despite this, in a significantly higher (p = 0.031) ratio of patients with silent carditis (41%), valvar lesions disappeared in the same follow-up period. In 18.4% of the involved valves, regurgitation regressed to physiological level.

Updated Jones criteria make it possible to diagnose a significant number of patients, and the ratio of complete recovery among patients with silent carditis is significantly higher. Also, it can be speculated that the normal children in whom a physiological mitral regurgitation is detected should be followed in terms of rheumatic heart disease.

Infants with isolated atrial septal defects are usually minimally symptomatic, and repair is typically performed after infancy. Early repair may be considered if there is high pulmonary blood flow and reduced respiratory reserve or early signs of pulmonary hypertension. Our aim was to review the characteristics and outcomes of a cohort of patients who underwent infant repair at our institute.

The study included 56 infants (28 female, 19 trisomy 21) with isolated atrial septal defect (age: 8 months (1.5–12), weight: 6 kg (2.8–7.5), echo Qp/Qs: 1.9 ± 0.1) who underwent surgical closure (20 fenestrated). Three groups were identified: 1) chronic lung disease and pulmonary hypertension (group A: n = 28%); 2) acutely unwell infants with pulmonary hypertension but no chronic lung disease (group B: n = 20, 36%); and 3) infants with refractory congestive heart failure without either pulmonary hypertension or chronic lung disease (group C: n = 9, 16%).

Post-operatively, pulmonary hypertension infants (47/56) showed improvement in tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion z-score (p < 0.001) and right ventricular systolic/diastolic duration ratio (p < 0.05). All ventilator (14.3%) or oxygen-dependent (31.6%) infants could be weaned within 2 weeks after repair. One year later, weight z-score increased in all patients and by +1 in group A, +1.3 in group B and +2 in group C. Over a median follow-up of 1.4 years, three patients died, four patients continued to have pulmonary hypertension evidence and two remained on targeted pulmonary hypertension therapy.

Atrial septal defect repair within the first year may improve the clinical status and growth in infants with early signs of pulmonary hypertension or those requiring respiratory support and facilitate respiratory management.

To determine the prevalence of pacemaker and conduction disturbances in patients with atrial septal defects.

All patients with an atrial septal defect born before 1994 were identified in the Danish National Patient Registry, and 297 patients were analysed for atrioventricular block, bradycardia, right bundle branch block, left anterior fascicular block, left posterior fascicular block, pacemaker, and mortality. Our results were compared with pre-existing data from a healthy background population. Further, outcomes were compared between patients with open atrial septal defects and atrial septal defects closed by surgery or transcatheter.

Most frequent findings were incomplete right bundle branch block (40.1%), left anterior fascicular block (3.7%), atrioventricular block (3.7%), and pacemaker (3.7%). Average age at pacemaker implantation was 32 years. Patients with defects closed surgically or by transcatheter had an increased prevalence of atrioventricular block (p < 0.01), incomplete right bundle branch block (p < 0.01), and left anterior fascicular block (p = 0.02) when compared to patients with unclosed atrial septal defects. At age above 25 years, there was a considerably higher prevalence of atrioventricular block (9.4% versus 0.1%) and complete right bundle branch block (1.9% versus 0.4%) when compared to the background cohorts.

Patients with atrial septal defects have a considerably higher prevalence of conduction abnormalities when compared to the background population. Patients with surgically or transcatheter closed atrial septal defects demonstrated a higher demand for pacemaker and a higher prevalence of atrioventricular block, incomplete right bundle branch block, and left anterior fascicular block when compared to patients with unclosed atrial septal defects.

The aim of this study was to assess exercise capacity, physical activity, and health-related quality of life within a broad and unselected group of adults with CHD.

From April 2009 to February 2014, 1310 patients were assessed for suitability to participate in this single-centre cross-sectional study. Seven hundred and forty-seven (57%) patients were included, performed a submaximal bicycle test, and answered questionnaires regarding physical activity and health-related quality of life. Exercise capacity, physical activity, and health-related quality of life were compared with reference values and correlations were studied.

The exercise capacities of men and women with CHD were 58.7 and 66.3%, respectively, of reference values. Approximately, 20–25% of the patients did not achieve the recommended amount of physical activity. In addition, men scored significantly less points on 7 out of 10 scales of health-related quality of life and women in 6 out of 10 scales, compared with reference values. The strongest correlation was between exercise capacity and the Short Form-36 (physical function).

Exercise capacity was impaired in all adults with CHD, including those with less complicated CHD. One-quarter of the patients did not achieve the recommended levels of physical activity. Exercise tests followed by individualised exercise prescriptions may be offered to all patients with CHD aiming to increase exercise capacity, levels of physical activity, improve health-related quality of life, and reduce the risk of acquired life-style diseases.

In this report, we aim to present our algorithm and results of patients with congenital cardiac disorders who underwent surgical or interventional procedures during the peak phase of the pandemics in our country.

The first COVID-19 case was diagnosed in Turkey on 11 March, 2020, and the peak phase seemed to end by the end of April. All the patients whom were referred, treated, or previously operated but still at the hospital during the peak phase of COVID-19 pandemics in the country were included into this retrospective study. Patient’s diagnosis, interventions, adverse events, and early post-procedural courses were studied.

Thirty-one patients with various diagnoses of congenital cardiovascular disorders were retrospectively reviewed. Ages of the patients ranged between 2 days and 16 years. Seventeen cases were males and 14 cases were females. Elective cases were postponed. Priority was given to interventional procedures, and five cases were treated percutaneously. Palliative procedures were preferred in patients whom presumably would require long hospital stay. Corrective procedures were not hesitated in prioritised stable patients. Mortality occurred in one patient. Eight patients out of 151 ICU admissions were diagnosed with COVID-19, and they were transferred to COVID-19 ICU immediately. Three nurses whom also took care of the paediatric cases became infected with SARS-CoV-2; however, the children did not catch the disease.

Mandatory and emergent congenital cardiac percutaneous and surgical procedures may be performed with similar postoperative risks as there are no pandemics with meticulous care and preventive measures.

There are little data about renal follow-up of neonates after cardiovascular surgery and no guidelines for long-term renal follow-up. Our objectives were to assess renal function follow-up practice after neonatal cardiac surgery, evaluate factors that predict follow-up serum creatinine measurements including acute kidney injury following surgery, and evaluate the estimated glomerular filtration rate during follow-up using routinely collected laboratory values.

Two-centre retrospective cohort study of children 5–7 years of age with a history of neonatal cardiac surgery. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to determine factors associated with post-discharge creatinine measurements. Glomerular filtration rate was estimated for each creatinine using a height-independent equation.

Seventeen of 55 children (30%) did not have any creatinine measured following discharge after surgery until the end of study follow-up, which occurred at a median time of 6 years after discharge. Of the 38 children who had the kidney function checked, 15 (40%) had all of their creatinine drawn only in the context of a hospitalisation or emergency department visit. Acute kidney injury following surgery did not predict the presence of follow-up creatinine measurements.

A large proportion of neonates undergoing congenital heart repair did not have a follow-up creatinine measured in the first years following surgery. In those that did have a creatinine measured, there did not appear to be any identified pattern of follow-up. A follow-up system for children who are discharged from cardiac surgery is needed to identify children with or at risk of chronic kidney disease.

Impaired isometric muscle strength was previously reported in adults with Fontan circulation. However, it is unclear if this impairment is present in children and adolescents with Fontan circulation. We investigated isometric muscle strength of the lower limb in patients (6–18 years) with Fontan circulation in comparison with healthy controls.

In this cross-sectional study, 43 patients (6–18 years) with Fontan circulation and 43 age- and sex-matched controls were included. Isometric knee extension and plantar flexion muscle strength were assessed using dynamometry (Newton, N). Lean mass of the legs was assessed with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Analyses were performed on group level (n = 43), and for subgroups that included children aged 6–12 years (n = 18) and adolescents aged 13–18 years (n = 25).

On group level, the patients with Fontan circulation had impaired isometric knee extension strength in comparison with the controls (p = 0.03). In subgroup analyses, impaired isometric knee extension strength was present in the adolescents (p = 0.009) but not in the children groups. For plantar flexion, there was no difference between patients and controls. There was no difference in lean mass between patients and controls (9.6 ± 4.3 kg vs. 10.8 ± 5.6 kg, p = 0.31). However, the lean mass was highly correlated to isometric knee extension strength (patients r = 0.89, controls r = 0.96, p < 0.001) and isometric plantar flexion strength (patients r = 0.7, controls r = 0.81, p < 0.001).

The finding of impaired isometric knee extension muscle strength in adolescents (13–18 years) with Fontan circulation and no corresponding impairment in the children group (6–12 years) could imply that isometric muscle strength gets more impaired with age.

To explore if there is association between vitamin D supplementation through cod liver oil ingestion around the periconceptional period and the risk of developing severe CHD in offspring. Furthermore, we would examine the interaction between vitamin D and folic acid supplementation in the association.

A case–control study was conducted in Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, in which, a total of 262 severe CHD cases versus 262 controls were recruited through June 2016 to December 2017. All children were younger than 2 years. To reduce potential selection bias and to minimise confounding effects, propensity score matching was applied.

After propensity score matching, vitamin D supplementation seemed to be associated with decreased odds ratio of severe CHD (odds ratio = 0.666; 95% confidence intervals: 0.449–0.990) in the multivariable conditional logistic analysis. Furthermore, we found an additive interaction between vitamin D and folic acid supplementation (relative excess risk due to interaction = 0.810, 95% confidence intervals: 0.386–1.235) in the association.

The results suggested that maternal vitamin D supplementation could decrease the risk of offspring severe CHD; moreover, it could strengthen the protective effect of folic acid. The significance of this study lies in providing epidemiological evidence that vitamin D supplementation around the periconceptional period could be a potential nutritional intervention strategy to meet the challenge of increasing CHD.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effects of education on complex congenital heart diseases using patient-specific three-dimensional printed heart models.

Three-dimensional printed heart models were created using computed tomography data obtained from 11 patients with complex congenital heart disease. Fourteen kinds of heart models, encompassing nine kinds of complex congenital heart disease were printed. Using these models, a series of educational hands-on seminars, led by an experienced paediatric cardiac surgeon and a paediatric cardiologist, were conducted for medical personnel who were involved in the care of congenital heart disease patients. Contents of the seminars included anatomy, three-dimensional structure, pathophysiology, and surgery for each diagnosis. Likert-type (10-point scale) questionnaires were used before and after each seminar to evaluate the effects of education.

Between November 2019 and June 2020, a total of 16 sessions of hands-on seminar were conducted. The total number of questionnaire responses was 75. Overall, participants reported subjective improvement in understanding anatomy (4.8 ± 2.1 versus 8.4 ± 1.1, p < 0.001), three-dimensional structure (4.6 ± 2.2 versus 8.9 ± 1.0, p < 0.001), pathophysiology (4.8 ± 2.2 versus 8.5 ± 1.0, p < 0.001), and surgery (4.9 ± 2.3 versus 8.8 ± 0.9, p < 0.001) of the congenital heart disease investigated.

The utilisation of three-dimensional printed heart models for education on complex congenital heart disease was feasible and improved medical personnel’s understanding of complex congenital heart disease. This education tool may be an effective alternative to conventional education tools for complex congenital heart disease.

Cardiac surgical interventions for children with trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 remain controversial, despite growing evidence that definitive cardiac repair prolongs survival. Understanding quality of life for survivors and their families therefore becomes crucial. Study objective was to generate a descriptive summary of parental perspectives on quality of life, family impact, functional status, and hopes for children with trisomy 18 and trisomy 13 who have undergone heart surgery.

A concurrent mixed method approach utilising PedsQL™ 4.0 Generic Core Parent Report for Toddlers or the PedsQL™ Infant Scale, PedsQL™ 2.0 Family Impact Module, Functional Status Scale, quality of life visual analogue scale, and narrative responses for 10 children whose families travelled out of state to access cardiac surgery denied to them in their home state due to genetic diagnoses.

Parents rated their child’s quality of life as 80/100, and their own quality of life as 78/100 using validated scales. Functional status was rated 11 by parents and 11.6 by providers (correlation 0.89). On quality of life visual analogue scale, all parents rated their child’s quality of life as “high” with mean response 92.7/100. Parental hopes were informed by realistic perspective on prognosis while striving to ensure their children had access to reaching their full potential. Qualitative analysis revealed a profound sense of the child’s relationality and valued life meaning.

Understanding parental motivations and perceptions on the child’s quality of life has potential to inform care teams in considering cardiac interventions for children with trisomy 18 and trisomy 13.

Care of children with functionally univentricular hearts is resource-intensive.

To analyse pregnancy and early post-natal outcomes of fetuses with functionally univentricular hearts in the setting of a low–middle-income country.

A retrospective study was conducted during the period of January 2008–October 2019. Study variables analysed included gestational age at diagnosis, maternal and fetal comorbidities and cardiac diagnosis including morphologic type of single ventricle. Outcomes analysed included pregnancy outcomes, type of post-natal care and survival status on the last follow-up.

A total of 504 fetuses were included. Mean maternal age was 27.5 ± 4.8 years and mean gestational age at diagnosis was 25.6 ± 5.7 weeks. Pregnancy outcomes included non-continued pregnancies (54%), live births (42.7%) and loss to follow-up (3.3%). Gestational age at diagnosis was the only factor that impacted pregnancy outcomes (non-continued pregnancies 22.5 ± 3.5 vs. live births 29.7 ± 5.7 weeks; p < 0.001). Of the 215 live births, intention-to-treat was reported in 119 (55.3%) cases; of these 103 (86.6%) underwent cardiac procedures. Seventy-nine patients (36.7%) opted for comfort care. On follow-up (median 10 (1–120) months), 106 patients (21%) were alive. Parental choice of intention-to-.treat or comfort care was the only factor that impacted survival on follow-up.

Prenatal diagnosis of functionally univentricular hearts was associated with overall low survival status on follow-up due to parental decisions on not to continue pregnancy or non-intention-to-treat after birth. Early detection of these complex defects by improved prenatal screening can enhance parental options and reduce resource impact in low-and-middle-income countries.

Obesity is a modifiable, independent risk factor for mortality and morbidity after cardiovascular surgery in adults. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of obesity on short-term outcomes in adolescents undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD).

This retrospective chart review included patients 10–18 years of age who underwent CHD surgery. Our exclusion criteria were patients with a known genetic syndrome, heart transplantation, and patients with incomplete medical records. The clinical data collected included baseline demographics and multiple perioperative variables. Charting the body mass index in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention growth curves, the entire cohort was divided into three categories: obese (>95th percentile), overweight (85th–95th percentile), and normal weight (<85th percentile). The composite outcome included survival, arrhythmias, surgical wound infection, acute neurologic injury, and acute kidney injury.

The study cohort (n = 149) had a mean standard deviation (SD), body mass index (BMI) of 22.6 ± 6.5 g/m2, and 65% were male. There were 27 obese (18.1%), 24 overweight (16.1%), and 98 normal weight (65.8%) patients. Twenty-seven (18%) patients had composite adverse outcomes. Overweight and obese patients had significantly higher adverse outcomes compared with normal weight patients (odds ratio (OR): 2.9; confidence interval (CI): 1–8.5, p = 0.04 and OR: 3; CI: 1–8.5, p = 0.03, respectively). In multivariate analysis, obesity was an independent predictor of adverse outcome in our cohort (p = 0.04).

Obesity is associated with short-term adverse outcome and increased health resource utilisation in adolescents following surgery for CHD. Further studies should evaluate if intervention in the preoperative period can improve outcomes in this population.

Preoperative mechanical ventilation is associated with morbidity and mortality following CHD surgery, but prior studies lack a comprehensive analysis of how preoperative respiratory support mode and timing affects outcomes.

We retrospectively collected data on children <18 years of age undergoing cardiac surgery at an academic tertiary care medical centre. Using multivariable regression, we examined the association between modes of preoperative respiratory support (nasal cannula, high-flow nasal cannula/noninvasive ventilation, or invasive mechanical ventilation), escalation of preoperative respiratory support, and invasive mechanical ventilation on the day of surgery for three outcomes: operative mortality, postoperative length of stay, and postoperative complications. We repeated our analysis in a subcohort of neonates.

A total of 701 children underwent 800 surgical procedures, and 40% received preoperative respiratory support. Among neonates, 243 patients underwent 253 surgical procedures, and 79% received preoperative respiratory support. In multivariable analysis, all modes of preoperative respiratory support, escalation in preoperative respiratory support, and invasive mechanical ventilation on the day of surgery were associated with increased odds of prolonged length of stay in children and neonates. Children (odds ratio = 3.69, 95% CI 1.2–11.4) and neonates (odds ratio = 8.97, 95% CI 1.31–61.14) on high-flow nasal cannula/noninvasive ventilation had increased odds of operative mortality compared to those on room air.

Preoperative respiratory support is associated with prolonged length of stay and mortality following CHD surgery. Knowing how preoperative respiratory support affects outcomes may help guide surgical timing, inform prognostic conversations, and improve risk stratification models.

Tetralogy of Fallot is the most common form of cyanotic CHD, with an incidence of 421 cases per million live births, constituting around 10% of CHD. Variations in aortic arch anatomy associated with tetralogy of Fallot, other than the incidence of right aortic arch (13–34%), are not frequently reported. A comprehensive analysis of a large number of tetralogy of Fallot cases is required to arrive at a compendious description of aortic arch anatomy.

All patients with a diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot who had CT or MRI either pre or post procedures between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019 at our hospital were included in the study. Using radiology consultants’ reports and analysis of individual images, we identified the various morphological patterns of aortic arches prevalent in these patients.

Out of 2684 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 1983 patients had left aortic arch (73.9%), 688 patients had right aortic arch (25.7%), four patients had cervical aortic arch (0.15%), eight patients had double aortic arch (0.3%), one patient had an aorto-pulmonary window (0.04%), and none of the patients had interrupted aortic arch. Sub-classification and clinical implications of the arch variations are described.

Up to 10% of tetralogy of Fallot patients may have significant anatomical variations of aortic arch that would necessitate changes or additional steps in their surgical or interventional procedures.

To evaluate heart rate against workload and oxygen consumption during exercise in Fontan patients.

Fontan patients (n = 27) and healthy controls (n = 25) underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing with linear increase of load. Heart rate and oxygen uptake were measured during tests. Heart rate recovery was recorded for 10 minutes.

Heart rate at midpoint (140 ± 14 versus 153 ± 11, p < 0.001) and at maximal effort (171 ± 14 versus 191 ± 10 beats per minute, p < 0.001) of test was lower for patients than controls. Heart rate recovery was similar between groups. Heart rate in relation to workload was higher for patients than controls both at midpoint and maximal effort. Heart rate in relation to oxygen uptake was similar between groups throughout test. Oxygen pulse, an indirect surrogate measure of stroke volume, was reduced at maximal effort in patients compared to controls (6.6 ± 1.1 versus 7.5 ± 1.4 ml·beat−1·m−2, p < 0.05) and increased significantly less from midpoint to maximal effort for patients than controls (p < 0.05).

Heart rate is increased in relation to workload in Fontan patients compared with controls. At higher loads, Fontan patients seem to have reduced heart rate and smaller increase in oxygen pulse, which may be explained by inability to further increase stroke volume and cardiac output. Reduced ability to increase or maintain stroke volume at higher heart rates may be an important limiting factor for maximal cardiac output, oxygen uptake, and physical performance.

Hospital readmission is an important driver of costs among patients with CHD. We assessed predictors of 30-day rehospitalisation following cardiac surgery in CHD patients across the lifespan.

This was a retrospective analysis of 981 patients with CHD who had cardiac surgery between January 2011 and December 2012. A multivariate logistic regression model was used to identify demographic, clinical, and surgical predictors of 30-day readmission. Receiver operating curves derived from multivariate logistic modelling were utilised to discriminate between patients who were readmitted and not-readmitted at 30 days. Model goodness of fit was assessed using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test statistic.

Readmission in the 30 days following congenital heart surgery is common (14.0%). Among 981 patients risk factors associated with increased odds of 30-day readmission after congenital heart surgery through multivariate analysis included a history of previous cardiac surgery (p < 0.001), longer post-operative length of stay (p < 0.001), as well as nutritional (p < 0.001), haematologic (p < 0.02), and endocrine (p = 0.04) co-morbidities. Patients who underwent septal defect repair had reduced odds of readmission (p < 0.001), as did children (p = 0.04) and adult (p = 0.005) patients relative to neonates.

Risk factors for readmission include a history of cardiac surgery, longer length of stay, and co-morbid conditions. This information may serve to guide efforts to prevent readmission and inform resource allocation in the transition of care to the outpatient setting. This study also demonstrated the feasibility of linking a national subspecialty registry to a clinical and administrative data repository to follow longitudinal outcomes of interest.