Perioperative Considerations for Pediatric Patients With Congenital Heart Disease Presenting for Noncardiac Procedures: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association
Abstract
Continuous advances in pediatric cardiology, surgery, and critical care have significantly improved survival rates for children and adults with congenital heart disease. Paradoxically, the resulting increase in longevity has expanded the prevalence of both repaired and unrepaired congenital heart disease and has escalated the need for diagnostic and interventional procedures. Because of this expansion in prevalence, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, and other health care professionals increasingly encounter patients with congenital heart disease or other pediatric cardiac diseases who are presenting for surgical treatment of unrelated, noncardiac disease. Patients with congenital heart disease are at high risk for mortality, complications, and reoperation after noncardiac procedures. Rigorous study of risk factors and outcomes has identified subsets of patients with minor, major, and severe congenital heart disease who may have higher-than-baseline risk when undergoing noncardiac procedures, and this has led to the development of risk prediction scores specific to this population. This scientific statement reviews contemporary data on risk from noncardiac procedures, focusing on pediatric patients with congenital heart disease and describing current knowledge on the subject. This scientific statement also addresses preoperative evaluation and testing, perioperative considerations, and postoperative care in this unique patient population and highlights relevant aspects of the pathophysiology of selected conditions that can influence perioperative care and patient management.
Supplemental Material is available at https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/suppl/10.1161/HCQ.0000000000000113
The American Heart Association makes every effort to avoid any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of an outside relationship or a personal, professional, or business interest of a member of the writing panel. Specifically, all members of the writing group are required to complete and submit a Disclosure Questionnaire showing all such relationships that might be perceived as real or potential conflicts of interest.
This statement was approved by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee on September 15, 2022, and the American Heart Association Executive Committee on October 26‚ 2022. A copy of the document is available at https://professional.heart.org/statements by using either “Search for Guidelines & Statements” or the “Browse by Topic” area. To purchase additional reprints, call 215-356-2721 or email Meredith.
The American Heart Association requests that this document be cited as follows: Nasr VG, Markham LW, Clay M, DiNardo JA, Faraoni D, Gottlieb-Sen D, Miller-Hance WC, Pike NA, Rotman C; on behalf of the American Heart Association Council on Lifelong Congenital Heart Disease and Heart Health in the Young and Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention. Preoperative considerations for pediatric patients with congenital heart disease presenting for noncardiac procedures: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2022;15:e•••••••••. doi: 10.1161/HCQ.0000000000000113
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