Incidence and Risk Factors for Perioperative Cardiovascular and Respiratory Adverse Events in Pediatric Patients With Congenital Heart Disease Undergoing Noncardiac Procedures.

BACKGROUND: While mortality and adverse perioperative events after noncardiac surgery in children with a broad range of congenital cardiac lesions have been investigated using large multiinstitutional databases, to date single-center studies addressing adverse outcomes in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing noncardiac surgery have only included small numbers of patients with significant heart disease. The primary objective of this study was to determine the incidences of perioperative cardiovascular and respiratory events in a large cohort of patients from a single institution with a broad range of congenital cardiac lesions undergoing noncardiac procedures and to determine risk factors for these events.

METHODS: We identified 3010 CHD patients presenting for noncardiac procedures in our institution over a 5-year period. We collected demographic information, including procedure performed, cardiac diagnosis, ventricular function as assessed by echocardiogram within 6 months of the procedure, and classification of CHD into 3 groups (minor, major, or severe CHD) based on residual lesion burden and cardiovascular functional status. Characteristics related to conduct of anesthesia care were also collected. The primary outcome variables for our analysis were the incidences of intraoperative cardiovascular and respiratory events. Univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were used to determine risk factors for these 2 outcomes.

RESULTS: The incidence of cardiovascular events was 11.5% and of respiratory events was 4.7%. Univariate analysis and multivariable analysis demonstrated that American Society of Anesthesiologists (≥3), emergency cases, major and severe CHD, single-ventricle physiology, ventricular dysfunction, orthopedic surgery, general surgery, neurosurgery, and pulmonary procedures were associated with perioperative cardiovascular events. Respiratory events were associated with American Society of Anesthesiologists (≥4) and otolaryngology, gastrointestinal, general surgery, and maxillofacial procedures.

CONCLUSIONS: Intraoperative cardiovascular events and respiratory events in patients with CHD were relatively common. While cardiovascular events were highly associated with cardiovascular status, respiratory events were not associated with cardiovascular status.