Low parental socioeconomic position results in longer post-Norwood length of stay
Length of stay (LOS) has been proposed as a quality metric in congenital heart surgery, but LOS may be influenced by parental socioeconomic position (SEP). We aimed to examine the relationship between post-Norwood LOS and SEP. Patients undergoing a Norwood procedure from 2008 to 2018 for hypoplastic...
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Published in | The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery Vol. 163; no. 5; pp. 1604 - 1611.e1 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Elsevier Inc
01.05.2022
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Length of stay (LOS) has been proposed as a quality metric in congenital heart surgery, but LOS may be influenced by parental socioeconomic position (SEP). We aimed to examine the relationship between post-Norwood LOS and SEP.
Patients undergoing a Norwood procedure from 2008 to 2018 for hypoplastic left heart syndrome from a single institution, who were discharged alive before second-stage palliation, were included. SEP was defined by Area Deprivation Index, distance from hospital, insurance status, and immigration status. A directed acyclic graph identified confounders for the effect of SEP on LOS, which included gestational age, hypoplastic left heart syndrome subtype, postoperative cardiac arrest, reoperations, and ventilator days. A negative binomial model was used to assess effect of SEP on LOS.
In total, 98 patients were discharged alive at a median 37 days (15th-85th percentile 26-72). The majority of patients were children of US citizens and permanent residents (n = 89; 91%). Private insurance covered 54 (55%), with 44 (45%) covered by Medicaid or Tricare. Median Area Deprivation Index was 54 (15th-85th percentile, 25-87). Median distance traveled was 72 miles (15th-85th percentile, 17-469 miles). For every 10 percentile increase in Area Deprivation Index, LOS increased 4% (incidence rate ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.007-1.077; P = .022). Insurance type, immigration status, and distance traveled did not affect postoperative length of stay.
There is a significant relationship between SEP and LOS. Consideration of LOS as a quality indicator may penalize hospitals providing care for patients with lower parental SEP.
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0022-5223 1097-685X |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2021.09.075 |