title: Risk factors and outcomes of in-hospital cardiac arrest following pediatric heart operations of varying complexity.
abstract: Multi center data regarding cardiac arrest in children undergoing heart operations of varying complexity are limited.
  
  
  
  Children <18 years undergoing heart surgery (with or without cardiopulmonary bypass) in the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC) Database (2009-2014) were included. Multivariable mixed logistic regression models were adjusted for patient's characteristics, surgical risk category (STS-EACTS Categories 1, 2, and 3 classified as "low" complexity and Categories 4 and 5 classified as "high" complexity), and hospital characteristics.
  
  
  
  Overall, 26,909 patients (62 centers) were included. Of these, 2.7% had cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery with an associated mortality of 31%. The prevalence of cardiac arrest was lower among patients undergoing low complexity operations (low complexity vs. high complexity: 1.7% vs. 5.9%). Unadjusted outcomes after cardiac arrest were significantly better among patients undergoing low complexity operations (mortality: 21.6% vs. 39.1%, good neurological outcomes: 78.7% vs. 71.6%). In adjusted models, odds of cardiac arrest were significantly lower among patients undergoing low complexity operations (OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.46-0.66). Adjusted models, however, showed no difference in mortality or neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest regardless of surgical complexity. Further, our results suggest that incidence of cardiac arrest and mortality after cardiac arrest are a function of patient characteristics, surgical risk category, and hospital characteristics. Presence of around the clock in-house attending level pediatric intensivist coverage was associated with lower incidence of post-operative cardiac arrest, and presence of a dedicated cardiac ICU was associated with lower mortality after cardiac arrest.
  
  
  
  This study suggests that the patients undergoing high complexity operations are a higher risk group with increased prevalence of post-operative cardiac arrest. These data further suggest that patients undergoing high complexity operations can be rescued after cardiac arrest with a high survival rate.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States. Electronic address: pgupta2@uams.edu.
authors.forename: Punkaj
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gupta
authors.affiliation: Section of Biostatistics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States.
authors.forename: Mallikarjuna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rettiganti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, United States; Virtual PICU Systems, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Howard E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Jeffries
authors.affiliation: Virtual PICU Systems, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
authors.forename: Matthew C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Scanlon
authors.affiliation: Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
authors.forename: Nancy S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Ghanayem
authors.affiliation: Virtual PICU Systems, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Daufeldt
authors.affiliation: Virtual PICU Systems, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Division of Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, United States.
authors.forename: Tom B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Rice
authors.affiliation: Virtual PICU Systems, LLC, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics and Anesthesiology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
authors.forename: Randall C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Wetzel
mesh_terms: D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000145:classification; D016887:Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation / Q000401:mortality; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015278:Intensive Care Units, Pediatric; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy; D011184:Postoperative Period; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Cardiac arrest; Cardiac surgery; Children; Complexity; Heart operation