• Brett R Anderson, Adam J Ciarleglio, Ganga Krishnamurthy, Sherry A Glied, and Emile A Bacha.
• Division of Pediatric Cardiology, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York. Electronic address: bra2113@cumc.columbia.edu.
• Ann. Thorac. Surg. 2015 May 1;99(5):1648-54.

BackgroundHypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is not only a devastating disease, but also the most expensive birth defect managed in the US. Nosocomial bloodstream infections (NBIs) are common in neonates with HLHS. We examined the effects of NBIs on in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and costs for late preterm and term infants with HLHS undergoing stage 1 palliation, at both individual patient and hospital levels.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study of infants 35 weeks or greater gestation with HLHS, admitted to our institution January 1, 2003 to January 1, 2013. Children with other cardiac abnormalities, major comorbid conditions, or perinatal infections were excluded. Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed. To estimate the effects of reduced NBI incidence on resource utilization, predictive models were used.ResultsOne hundred forty-three children met inclusion criteria. In-hospital mortality was 9.1% (n = 13). Postoperative infection was observed in 12.6% (n = 18). Median length of stay was 23 days for survivors (IQR, 17 to 40; range, 9 to 132). Median costs were $83,000 for survivors, in 2013 dollars (IQR, $62,000 to $123,000; range, $17,000 to $517,000). NBIs were not associated with changes in mortality. In multivariable analyses, at a patient level NBIs were associated with a 74% increase in length of stay (95% confidence interval [CI], 31% to 132%, p < 0.001) and a 65% increase in costs (95% CI, 28% to 114%, p < 0.001). On a hospital level, in this cohort a 50% reduction in the incidence of NBIs would be expected to yield a 4.3% decrease in average length of stay and a 3.8% decrease in average in-patient costs.ConclusionsNosocomial bloodstream infections in neonates with HLHS are associated with large increases in lengths of stay and costs on a patient level, but not a hospital level. For hospitals without particularly high incidences, studies are needed to identify additional targets for quality improvement.Copyright © 2015 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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