Application of a complication screening method to congenital heart surgery admissions: a preliminary report.

There have been comprehensive screening methods developed to identify unwanted inpatient events. A comprehensive assessment of complication diagnoses during congenital heart surgery admissions has not been performed. We examined the frequency of complications identified by a complication screening method and their relationship to patient characteristics among congenital heart surgery admissions. Data were obtained from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database 2000. Among congenital heart surgery admissions, age < or =20 years, we identified International Classification of Disease, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) codes indicating complication. Complication diagnoses were categorized as related to drug/biologic, procedures, devices, implants and grafts, and radiation. We used the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery risk categories (1-6) to examine the association between case complexity and complications. Multivariate analyses estimated the odds for a complication diagnosis by patient characteristics, including age, prematurity, chromosomal anomalies, noncardiac structural anomalies, and surgical risk category. Among 12,717 cases, 4014 (32%) had at least 1 complication diagnosis code. Procedure-related complication diagnoses represented 75% of complication diagnoses; device, implant, or graft represented 21%; drug/biologic represented 4% and radiation represented 0%. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that higher surgical case complexity and older age had a greater risk for a complication diagnosis: Risk Category 2, odds ratio (OR) 1.8; 3 OR 2.9; 4 OR 2.9; 5 OR 5.0; 6 OR 4.1, relative to category 1, all p < 0.01; age > or =12 years, OR 1.3, p < 0.001; <1 year OR 1.1, p = 0.31. Premature cases had decreased odds OR 0.4, p < 0.001. This complication screening method indicates that unwanted patient events occur frequently during congenital heart surgery admissions. Children undergoing complex congenital heart surgery are at greatest risk for these unwanted events. Further study of these events is needed to determine their preventability and severity.