ArticleThe Annals of thoracic surgery2020
Center Variation in Chest Tube Duration and Length of Stay After Congenital Heart Surgery.
Article in The Annals of thoracic surgery, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- National Variation in Congenital Heart Surgery Outcomes.Circulation · 2020Trial
- Early Mediastinal Chest Tube Removal following Cardiac Surgery is Rarely Associated with Pericardial Effusion Requiring Intervention.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- Refractory Chylothorax: Descriptive Analysis and Predictive Model in Children with Postoperative Chylothorax.Pediatric cardiology · 2026Article
- Clinical outcomes of tetralogy canal repair: A multidisciplinary perspective.Saudi medical journal · 2025Article
- Drainology: Leveraging research in chest-drain management to enhance recovery after cardiothoracic surgery.JTCVS techniques · 2024Article
- Risk Factors for Extubation Failure After Pediatric Cardiac Surgery and Impact on Outcomes: A Multicenter Analysis.Critical care explorations · 2023Article
- Successful Reduction of Postoperative Chest Tube Duration and Length of Stay After Congenital Heart Surgery: A Multicenter Collaborative Improvement Project.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2021Article
- High Acuity Therapy Variation Across Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Units: Results from the Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative Hospital Surveys.Pediatric cardiology · 2021Article
- Recent outcomes of the extracardiac Fontan procedure in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.Annals of pediatric cardiologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 12 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNearly every child undergoing congenital heart surgery has chest tubes placed intraoperatively. Center variation in removal practices and impact on outcomes has not been well described. This study evaluated variation in chest tube management practices and outcomes across centers.
methodsThe study included patients undergoing any of 10 benchmark operations from June 2017 to May 2018 at participating Pediatric Acute Care Cardiology Collaborative (PAC
resultsThe cohort included 1029 patients (N = 9 centers). Median chest tube duration varied significantly across centers for 9 of 10 benchmark operations (all P ≤ .03), with a "model" center noted to have the shortest duration for 9 of 10 operations (range, 27.9% to 87.4% shorter duration vs other centers across operations). This effect persisted in multivariable analysis (P < .0001). The model center had higher volumes of chest tube output before removal (median, 8.5 mL/kg/24 h [model] vs 2.2 mL/kg/24 h [other centers]; P < .001], but it did not have higher rates of chest tube reinsertion (model center 1.3% vs 2.1%; P = .59) or readmission for pleural effusion (model center 4.4% vs 3.0%; P = .31), and had the shortest length of stay for 7 of 10 operations.
conclusionsThis study suggests significant center variation in chest tube removal practices and associated outcomes after congenital heart surgery. Best practices used at the model center have informed the design of an ongoing collaborative learning project aimed at reducing chest tube duration and length of stay.
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