Management and outcomes of acute appendicitis in children with congenital heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Congenital heart disease (CHD) care has evolved during the past decades. Advances in care have contributed to improved survival among CHD patients. Children with CHD are requiring interventions for non-CHD related medical issues that occur in the general pediatric population. METHODS: A retrospective review of the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database from January 1, 2004, to July 31, 2023. Discharges of patients with an admitting/principal diagnosis of appendicitis were evaluated and categorized as CHD or non-CHD. RESULTS: A total of 319,228 patients were identified with 1,25,858(39.4%) female, 1,38,966(43.5%) white, and median age of 11[IQR:8-14] years. 708(0.2%) had CHD with 85(12%) of them having a diagnosis consistent with single-ventricle CHD (SV-CHD). In univariate analysis, CHD patients were more likely to undergo conservative treatment (n = 172(24.2%)vs n = 59,358(18.6%)) and less likely to undergo laparoscopic appendectomy (n = 483(68.2%) vs n = 2,35,324(73.8%))(p < 0.001) compared to non-CHD. After adjustment, CHD patients had increased odds of undergoing open appendectomy compared to non-CHD. CHD patients were more likely to have an ICU admission (OR:8.36(95%CI 6.35-10.00),p < 0.001) and had a 77.6%(95%CI 40.89-123.93) increase in length of stay (LOS) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: CHD patients are more likely to have an open appendectomy than non-CHD patients. These findings suggest a distinctive pattern in the care of CHD patients compared to non-CHD. Overall, CHD patients had a more intense level of care with longer LOS and increased ICU admissions. Further work is needed to evaluate drivers of management decisions, the role of conservative treatment with antibiotics alone in the CHD population, and the potential impacts and safety of a laparoscopic approach.

The journey of becoming a congenital heart surgeon: Too long, too costly, too unpredictable.

OBJECTIVE: The pathway to become a congenital heart surgeon (CHS) is challenging and unpredictable. Previous voluntary manpower surveys have shed partial light on this problem but have not included all trainees. We believe that this arduous journey merits more attention. METHODS: To examine the real-life challenges of recent participants in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited CHS training programs, we conducted phone interviews with all graduates of approved programs from 2021 to 2022. This institutional review board approved survey focused on issues including preparation, length of training, debt burden, and employment. RESULTS: All 22 (100%) graduates during the study period were interviewed. Age at fellowship completion was a median 37 years (range, 33-45 years). Pathways to fellowship included traditional general surgery with adult cardiac (43%), abbreviated general surgery ("4 + 3," 19%) and integrated-6 (38%). Time spent on any pediatric related rotation before CHS fellowship was a median 4 months (range, 1-10 months). During CHS fellowship, graduates reported medians of 100 (range, 75-170) total cases and 8 (range, 0-25) neonatal cases as the primary surgeon. Debt burden at completion was a median of $179,000 (range, $0-$550,000). Maximal financial compensation during training before and during CHS fellowship were medians of $65,000 (range, $50,000-$100,000) and $80,000 (range, $65,000-$165,000), respectively. Six (27.3%) are currently in roles in which they cannot practice independently (5 [22.7%] faculty instructors, 1 [4.5%] CHS clinical fellowship). Median salary in first job is $450,000 (range, $80,000-$700,000). CONCLUSIONS: Graduates of CHS fellowships are old, and training is highly variable. Aptitude screening and pediatric-focused preparation are minimal. Debt burden is onerous. Further attention to refining training paradigms and compensation are justified.

Incidence and Outcomes of Iatrogenic Complete Atrioventricular Block After Congenital Heart Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Iatrogenic complete atrioventricular block (ICAVB) has long been noted as a major complication after congenital heart surgery (CHS), and it contributes to complex postoperative care and potentially affects patients' outcomes. METHODS: This study is a retrospective review of the Pediatric Health Information System database from January 1, 2004 to September 30, 2023. All patients who underwent The Society of Thoracic Surgeons benchmark procedures were included. International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9th and 10th editions were used to identify diagnoses and procedures. All patients with a diagnosis of complete atrioventricular block and placement of a permanent pacemaker after CHS but in the same hospitalization were identified as having ICAVB. RESULTS: A total of 42,332 patients were identified, with 17,106 (41%) female and 23,042 (55%) non-Hispanic White and with a median age of 5.4 months [interquartile range, 0.4-25.8 months]. Of those patients, 246 (0.6%) had ICAVB. The procedure with the highest incidence of ICAVB was the arterial switch operation with ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair (74 of 1552; 4.5%). On multivariable analysis, the arterial switch operation with VSD repair had the highest adjusted odds of ICAVB (odds ratio, 5.41; 95% CI, 3.57-8.19; P < .001) when compared with isolated VSD repair. A diagnosis of endocarditis was significantly associated with ICAVB. Center volume was not associated with ICAVB. ICAVB was associated with a 121% (95% CI, 98.5%-146.8%) increase in length of stay (P < .001) and increased in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.34-3.82; P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: The overall incidence of ICAVB after CHS is low. However, certain procedures have incidences as high as 4.5%. ICAVB is associated with increased postoperative mortality and length of stay. Further work is needed to identify drivers of variation among centers to improve overall outcomes.