Evaluation of the outcomes of congenital heart disease after cardiac surgery or angiographic interventions in children: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are diagnosed in ≈8 to 10 per 1,000 live births in the United States. This study aimed to determine the outcomes in children with congenital heart disease.

This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was conducted using the census method on all patients with a CHD who referred to the pediatric heart clinic in Valiasr Hospital, Birjand, Iran, and underwent heart operation during the desired period. The information contained in the patients' files was used to collect the required data. The rest of the information was gathered by calling the patients' parents. The collected data were analyzed in the SPSS-19 software using the Chi-square test and Fisher's exact test. The significant level was considered at the p-value of ≤ 0.05.

The results of the statistical analysis indicated that the type of intervention (i.e., operation, intrusion) had no statistically significant relationship with demographic indicators of gender, age by month, chromosomal abnormalities, the type of heart disease, and the development of children under-study; however, it showed a statistically significant relationship with the type of initial complaint. The rate of operation was significantly higher in the subjects, especially in those who had an initial complaint of murmurs. Based on the results, the age of children had a statistically significant relationship with the need for pacemakers and the amount of pleural effusion; these two outcomes increased significantly with the child's aging.

A large number of demographic and clinical factors were effective in children's postoperative outcomes. Consequently, by conducting further studies at a wider level and controlling variables it is possible to compare the findings, achieve more favorable results, and improve clinical indicators.