Higher Cost of Hospitalizations for Non-cardiac Diagnoses in Adults with Congenital Heart Disease.

Adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) are a rapidly increasing population and their impact on healthcare resources is not fully understood. The purpose of this study was to describe the costs of hospitalizations for non-cardiac disease for adults with CHD. We conducted a retrospective review of hospital discharge data from the University HealthSystem Consortium Clinical Data Base/Resource Manager from January 2011 through December 2013. Patients were ≥ 18 years old at admission with any ICD-9 code for moderate or high severity CHD; cardiac surgical admissions were excluded. The comparison group consisted of patients ≥ 18 years old with no ICD-9 codes for any severity CHD. There were 9,169,700 non-CHD, 28,224 moderate CHD, and 3045 high severity CHD hospital admissions. Total length of stay was longer for acute kidney injury, depressive disorder, esophageal reflux, and obstructive sleep apnea for any severity CHD; ICU admission rates were higher for all diagnoses with any severity CHD. Mean observed direct costs were higher for all diagnoses for moderate CHD and all diagnoses except dehydration, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and obstructive sleep apnea for high severity CHD. This review identified significantly increased hospitalization costs for adults with moderate and high severity CHD who are admitted for non-cardiac medical conditions not associated with concomitant cardiac surgical procedures. Admissions with CHD diagnoses had higher ICU admission rates, longer lengths of stay, and higher mortality for most non-cardiac admission diagnoses. These data will add to our understanding of the economic impact of adults with CHD.

Multimodality Assessment of Anomalous Aortic Origin of the Right Coronary Artery Presenting With Cardiac Arrest.

Anomalous aortic origin of coronary artery (AAOCA) can range from benign anatomic variants to those presenting with sudden cardiac arrest. This unique case of right AAOCA demonstrates detailed anatomic findings from cardiac computed tomography and the effects of transient acute coronary ischemia by cardiac magnetic resonance. (Level of Difficulty: Advanced.).

Association of candidate genes with flowering time and water-soluble carbohydrate content in Lolium perenne (L.).

We describe a candidate gene approach for associating SNPs with variation in flowering time and water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content and other quality traits in the temperate forage grass species Lolium perenne. Three analysis methods were used, which took the significant population structure into account. First, a linear mixed model was used enabling a structured association analysis to be incorporated with the nine populations identified in the structure analysis as random variables. Second, a within-population analysis of variance was performed. Third, a tree-scanning method was used, in which haplotype trees were associated with phenotypes on the basis of inferred haplotypes. Analysis of variance within populations identified several associations between WSC, nitrogen (N), and dry matter digestibility with allelic variants within an alkaline invertase candidate gene LpcAI. These associations were only detected in material harvested in one of the two years. By contrast, consistent associations between the L. perenne homolog (LpHD1) of the rice photoperiod control gene HD1 and flowering time were identified. One SNP, in the immediate upstream region of the LpHD1 coding sequence (C-4443-A), was significant in the linear mixed model. Within-population analysis of variance and tree-scanning analysis confirmed and extended this result to the 2118 polymorphisms in some of the populations. The merits of the tree-scanning method are compared to the single SNP analysis. The potential usefulness of the 4443 SNP in marker-assisted selection is currently being evaluated in test crosses of genotypes from this work with turf-grass varieties.

RSV prophylaxis guideline changes and outcomes in children with congenital heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare inpatient outcomes and costs for children with respiratory syncytial virus and congenital heart disease before and after the change in management guidelines for respiratory syncytial virus prophylaxis. DESIGN: Hospital discharge data from the Vizient (formerly University HealthSystem Consortium) were queried from October 2012 to June 2014 (Era 1) and July 2014 to April 2016 (Era 2) for patients aged <24 months with an any International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 or ICD-10 code for congenital heart disease (745-747.49, Q20.0-Q26.4) and a primary or secondary admitting diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus infection (079.6, J20.5), acute bronchiolitis due to respiratory syncytial virus (466.11, J21.0) or respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia (480.1, J12.1). SETTING: This study is a review of a national administrative discharge database. PATIENTS: Respiratory syncytial virus admissions were identified in 1269 patients aged <24 months with congenital heart disease, with 644 patients in Era 1 and 625 in Era 2. Patients 0-12 months old represented 83% of admissions. INTERVENTIONS: Prior to 2014, children aged 0-24 months with congenital heart disease were eligible to receive respiratory syncytial virus prophylaxis. Updated guidelines, published in 2014, restricted the recommendation to administer palivizumab respiratory syncytial virus prophylaxis to children with congenital heart disease only if they are ≤12 months old. OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures are hospital length of stay, ICU admission rate, mortality, and direct costs. RESULTS: There was no change in length of stay, ICU admission rate, in-hospital mortality, or direct costs for children 13-24 months old with congenital heart disease after the change in guidelines. There were no deaths in 13-24 month olds, regardless of era. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide additional support for the new guideline recommendations to provide respiratory syncytial virus prophylaxis only for children ≤12 months old with congenital heart disease.

Resource Utilization for Noncardiac Admissions in Pediatric Patients With Single Ventricle Disease.

Patients with single ventricle (SV) congenital heart disease (CHD) incur high hospital costs during staged surgical palliation. Health care resource utilization for noncardiac admissions in patients with SV has not been reported. This study sought to compare costs and outcomes for common noncardiac hospital admissions between patients with SV and patients without CHD. Hospital discharge data from the University Health System Consortium from January 2011 to December 2013 was queried for patients aged ≤18 years with International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes for SV lesions: hypoplastic left heart syndrome (746.7), tricuspid atresia (746.1), or common ventricle (745.3). Primary diagnosis, direct cost, length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit admission rate and mortality data were obtained. The 10 most common noncardiac admission diagnoses were compared between patients with SV and patients without CHD using t test and Fisher's exact test. Total direct cost, LOS, and intensive care unit admission rate were higher for patients with SV for all diagnoses with the exception of LOS for dehydration, which was not different between groups. Hospital mortality was significantly higher for patients with SV admitted for acute kidney injury, esophageal reflux, failure to thrive, respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis and pneumonia. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that patients with SV CHD admitted with noncardiac diagnoses have higher health care resource utilization compared to those without CHD. As long-term survival increases, it can be expected that this patient group will use a disproportionate amount of medical dollars. Further characterization of costs will be important so steps can be taken to reduce or prevent hospitalization in these patients.

A review of the economics of adult congenital heart disease.

Adults living with congenital heart disease (CHD) now outnumber children with the disease. Thanks to medical advances over the past 75 years, many of these fatal childhood heart problems have changed to chronic medical conditions. As the population of adults with CHD increases, they will require increasingly complex medical, surgical and catheter-based therapies. In addition, social burdens including education, employment and insurability, which increase the societal costs of adult CHD, are now being recognized for adults living with CHD. This review summarizes the available literature on the economics of adult CHD.

Hospital Resource Utilization for Common Noncardiac Diagnoses in Adult Survivors of Single Cardiac Ventricle.

Single ventricle congenital heart disease (SV CHD) has transformed from a nearly universally fatal condition to a chronic illness. As the number of adults living with SV CHD continues to increase, there needs to be an understanding of health care resource utilization (HCRU), particularly for noncardiac conditions, for this patient population. We performed a retrospective database review of the University HealthSystem Consortium Clinical Database/Resource Manager for adult patients with SV CHD hospitalized for noncardiac conditions from January 2011 to November 2014. Patients with SV CHD were identified using International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 codes associated with SV CHD (hypoplastic left heart, tricuspid atresia, and SV) and stratified into 2 groups by age (18 to 29 years and 30 to 40 years). Direct cost, length of stay (LOS), intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate and mortality data were compared with age-matched patients without CHD. There were 2,083,651 non-CHD and 590 SV CHD admissions in Group 1 and 2,131,046 non-CHD and 297 SV CHD admissions in Group 2. There was no difference in LOS in Group 1, but there were higher costs for several diagnoses. LOS and costs were higher for several diagnoses in Group 2. ICU admission rate and in-hospital mortality were higher for several diagnoses for patients with SV CHD in both groups. In conclusion, adults with SV CHD admitted for noncardiac diagnoses have higher HCRU (longer LOS and higher ICU admission rates) compared with similarly aged patients without CHD. These findings stress the importance of good primary care in this population with complex, chronic cardiac disease to prevent hospitalizations and higher HCRU.