Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40392277›Full record

ArticlePediatric cardiology2026

Center Volume Not Associated with Survival Benefit of Inter-Hospital Transfer for Pediatric Cardiac Surgery.

Dhaval Chauhan, J Hunter Mehaffey, J W Awori Hayanga, Pieter Alex Verhoeven, Margaret Mathewson, Veronica Godsey, Alyssa Fazi, Jai P Udassi, Vinay Badhwar, Christopher E Mascio

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric cardiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Dhaval ChauhanDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, West Virginia University, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV, 26501, USA. Dhaval.chauhan@wvumedicine.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9566-8115
J Hunter MehaffeyDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, West Virginia University, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV, 26501, USA.
J W Awori HayangaDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, West Virginia University, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV, 26501, USA.
Pieter Alex VerhoevenDivision of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.
Margaret MathewsonDivision of Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.
Veronica GodseyDivision of Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care, Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.
Alyssa FaziDivision of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Department of Anesthesiology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.
Jai P UdassiDivision of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA.
Vinay BadhwarDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, West Virginia University, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV, 26501, USA.
Christopher E MascioDepartment of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, West Virginia University, 1 Medical Center Drive, Morgantown, WV, 26501, USA.

Funding

NHLBI NIH HHS 2UM1 HL088925 12
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To evaluate the relationship between center volume and inpatient mortality among patients transferred to another hospital for pediatric cardiac surgery using contemporary real-world data. The Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) was queried for cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) cases for the years 2016 and 2019. Hospitals were divided into three groups based on terciles of volume: low: ≤ 103 cases/year, mid: 104-194 cases/year, and high: > 194 cases/year. Multilevel regression models were created to evaluate the association between volume and inpatient mortality for transferred patients, both for the entire cohort and for high-complexity cases. (Risk Stratification for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS-2) categories 3,4, and 5). Of 25,749 patients undergoing cases on CPB, 3511 (13.6%) were preoperative inpatient transfers between hospitals. Compared to direct admissions, unadjusted mortality for patients who were transferred was higher in all groups: 1.7% vs 5.6% (low-volume), 1.1% vs 4.6% (mid-volume) and 1.1% vs 4.9% (high-volume). Compared to low-volume hospitals, inpatient mortality for patients admitted on transfer was not significantly different in mid-volume (OR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.54-1.34, p = 0.483) and high-volume centers (OR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.45-1.12, p = 0.127) for the entire cohort. There was no significant difference in risk-adjusted inpatient mortality for high-complexity cases performed at mid-volume (OR 1.06, p = 0.845, 95% CI (0.62-1.85)) or high-volume hospitals (OR 0.82, p = 0.482, 95% CI (0.48-1.45)) compared to low-volume hospitals. Annual CPB case volume may not accurately predict risk-adjusted inpatient mortality for children transferred for pediatric cardiac surgery. Annual case volume alone should not dictate transfer for surgical care.

Indexed as

Cardiac Surgical ProceduresHeart Defects, CongenitalHospitals, High-VolumeHospitals, Low-VolumePatient TransferChildChild, PreschoolDatabases, FactualFemaleHospital MortalityHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleRetrospective StudiesRisk AssessmentAnnual volumeHospital transferMortalityPediatric cardiac surgery

Identifiers

PMID40392277

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.