Staged Palliation of Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: Trends in Mortality, Cost, and Length of Stay Using a National Database from 2000 Through 2009

Staged surgical palliation has revolutionized the care of patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), although the outcomes of survival and cost at a national level remain unclear. This study sought to evaluate (1) trends in HLHS surgical outcomes including in-hospital mortality, length of stay (LOS), and cost, and (2) patient and hospital risk factors associated with these outcomes. Hospitalizations for patients with HLHS, including stage I, II, and III palliations, were analyzed using the Kids’ Inpatient Database from 2000 through 2009. Trends in mortality, LOS, and cost were analyzed and chi-squared tests were used to test association between categorical variables. Patient and hospital characteristics associated with death were analyzed using logistic regression and associations with LOS were analyzed using ordinary least squared regression. There were 16,923 hospital admissions in patients with HLHS of which 5,672 (34%) included surgical intervention. Total (3,201-5,102) and surgery-specific admissions (1,165-1,618) increased from 2000 to 2009. Mortality decreased 14% per year in stage III palliations (odds ratio [OR] 0.86; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79-0.94) and 6% per year for stage I palliations (OR 0.94; 95% CI 0.90-0.99) but not for stage II palliations (OR 1.01; 95% CI; 0.89-1.14). Length of stay increased for stage I and II palliations; however, per-patient hospital cost decreased in 2009. In conclusion, recent decrease in per patient cost for staged surgical palliation for HLHS has correlated temporally with improved mortality.