Anesthesia-Related Cardiac Arrest in Children with Heart Disease

TLDR

The identification of causes of and factors relating to anesthesia‑related cardiac arrest suggests possible strategies for prevention. The study analyzed causes and outcomes of anesthesia‑related cardiac arrest in children with and without heart disease. Data were collected from 1994 to 2005 via a standardized anonymous registry form across 80 North American institutions, capturing 373 anesthesia‑related cardiac arrests in children, 34% of whom had heart disease. Children with heart disease who experienced anesthesia‑related cardiac arrest were sicker, more likely to arrest from cardiovascular causes, and had higher mortality (33% vs 23%) compared with those without heart disease, with most arrests occurring in the general operating room and single‑ventricle lesions being most common.

Abstract

From 1994 to 2005, the Pediatric Perioperative Cardiac Arrest Registry collected data on 373 anesthesia-related cardiac arrests (CAs) in children, 34% of whom had congenital or acquired heart disease (HD).Nearly 80 North American institutions that provide anesthesia for children voluntarily enrolled in the Pediatric Perioperative Cardiac Arrest Registry. A standardized data form for each perioperative CA in children 18 years old or younger was submitted anonymously. We analyzed causes of and outcomes from anesthesia-related CA in children with and without HD.Compared with the 245 children without HD, the 127 children with HD who arrested were sicker (92% vs 62% ASA physical status III-V; P < 0.01) and more likely to arrest from cardiovascular causes (50% vs 38%; P = 0.03), although often the exact cardiovascular cause of arrest could not be determined. Mortality was higher in patients with HD (33%) than those without HD (23%, P = 0.048) but did not differ when adjusted for ASA physical status classification. More than half (54%) of the CA in patients with HD were reported from the general operating room compared with 26% from the cardiac operating room and 17% from the catheterization laboratory. The most common category of HD lesion in patients suffering CA was single ventricle (n = 24). At the time of CA, most patients with congenital HD were either unrepaired (59%) or palliated (26%). Arrests in patients with aortic stenosis and cardiomyopathy were associated with the highest mortality rates (62% and 50%, respectively), although statistical comparison was precluded by small sample size for some HD lesions.Children with HD were sicker compared with those without HD at the time of anesthesia-related CA and had a higher mortality after arrest. These arrests were reported most frequently from the general operating room and were likely to be from cardiovascular causes. The identification of causes of and factors relating to anesthesia-related CA suggests possible strategies for prevention.