BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is common in trisomy 13 (T13) and trisomy 18 (T18), but surgical repair has not been offered in most centers. Data on outcomes of congenital heart surgery (CHS) for T13 and T18 are lacking. We sought to determine the impact of CHS on in-hospital mortality in T13 and T18.

METHODS: Data from the 2004 to 2015 Pediatric Health Information System database were used to identify inpatients with T13 or T18 and CHD. Data were restricted to newborns with T13 or T18 admitted at ≤14 days of age. Hospital readmissions were examined to analyze longer-term in-hospital mortality. In-hospital mortality and length of stay were compared between infants with and without CHD and with and without CHS.

RESULTS: The study cohort included 1020 infants with T18 and 648 infants with T13. CHD was present in 91% of infants with T18 and 86% of infants with T13. CHS was performed in 7% of each group. In-hospital mortality was decreased in those who underwent CHS (64% lower in T18 [P <.001]; 45% lower in T13 [P = .003]) and remained decreased throughout the 24 months of follow-up. In-hospital mortality was decreased in infants with higher weight, female sex, and older age at admission.

CONCLUSIONS: CHS is associated with decreased in-hospital mortality in T18 and T13. These results suggest CHS may be beneficial in select cases.

Reference: Katherine A. Kosiv, Jeffrey M. Gossett, Shasha Bai, R. Thomas Collins II. Congenital Heart Surgery on In-Hospital Mortality in Trisomy 13 and 18. Pediatrics. Nov 2017, 140 (5) e20170772; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2017-0772