Long-term survival of infants with atrioventricular septal defects.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the variation in survival in infants with atrioventricular septal defects (AVSD) with demographic factors and clinical characteristics, including the presence of Down syndrome.


METHODS
We selected infants with all types of AVSD with Down syndrome (n = 177) and without Down syndrome (n = 161), born between Jan 1, 1979, and Dec 31, 2003 and identified through the Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program (MACDP). Infants were classified by the complexity of their cardiac defects and presence of major non-cardiac malformations. Deaths (n = 111) were identified through 2004 with linkage with state vital records and the National Death Index. Kaplan-Meier survival probabilities and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated in relation to demographic and clinical characteristics.


RESULTS
Children with AVSD and Down syndrome had a similar overall survival probability (70%) as those without Down syndrome (69%). Mortality was higher in children with a complex AVSD (adjusted HR = 7.0; 95% CI, 3.1-15.5) and in children with > or =2 major non-cardiac malformations (adjusted HR = 3.4; 95% CI, 1.8-6.5) and was lower in children in the 1992 to 2003 birth cohort (adjusted HR = 0.6; 95% CI, 0.4-0.998).


CONCLUSIONS
Down syndrome was not a prognostic factor. Our findings might be helpful in assessing the long-term prognosis of infants with AVSD.
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Atlanta, GA. Electronic address: amiller@cdc.gov.
Assia
A
Miller
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; Computer Sciences Corporation, Atlanta, GA.
Csaba
C
Siffel
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; Merck Research Laboratories, Upper Gwynedd, PA.
Chengxing
C
Lu
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
Tiffany
T
Riehle-Colarusso
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA; McKing Consulting Corporation, Fairfax, VA.
Jaime L
JL
Frías
Division of Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA.
Adolfo
A
Correa
D015897:Comorbidity; D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006344:Heart Septal Defects, Atrial / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D006345:Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012307:Risk Factors