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1,000 consecutive children with a cardiac malformation with 26- to 37-year follow-up
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis 55455.
Insights
Long-term follow-up of children with congenital heart disease shows that most survivors are in good health. Improved treatments offer even better prognoses for current patients with cardiac malformations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Congenital Heart Disease Research
- Longitudinal Health Studies
Background:
- Assessing the long-term outcomes of congenital heart disease (CHD) is crucial for understanding disease progression and treatment efficacy.
- Early evaluations of pediatric cardiac malformations occurred during the developmental phase of cardiac surgery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the long-term clinical status of children diagnosed with cardiac malformations between 1952 and 1963.
- To evaluate the survival rates and current health conditions of this cohort over 26 to 37 years post-initial evaluation.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of 997 out of 1,000 consecutive pediatric patients with cardiac malformations.
- Longitudinal follow-up of survivors for 26 to 37 years, assessing clinical condition, need for treatment, and incidence of infective endocarditis.
Main Results:
- 285 out of 1,000 patients died; 632 survivors are in excellent or good condition, asymptomatic and without planned treatment.
- 80 survivors have significant abnormalities, with 63 experiencing few symptoms.
- Infective endocarditis occurred at a rate of 12 per 10,000 susceptible patient-years, with a decreasing trend in recent years.
- Only 22 survivors currently require cardiac medication.
Conclusions:
- A significant majority of children with cardiac malformations treated during the early development of cardiac surgery have favorable long-term outcomes.
- The prognosis for current pediatric patients with congenital heart disease is expected to be even more positive due to advancements in treatment and surgical techniques.
Abstract:
The current status of 997 of 1,000 consecutive children with a cardiac malformation initially evaluated between 1952 and 1963 was determined. Of the 1000, 285 have died and the survivors have been followed up for periods of 26 to 37 years. Six hundred thirty-two are in excellent or good clinical condition, being asymptomatic and without planned need for further treatment. The other 80 have significant abnormalities, although 63 of these have few symptoms. Infective endocarditis occurred in 12 of 10,000 susceptible patient-years, with a lower rate in the past decade. Only 22 of the survivors are currently receiving cardiac medication. These data are derived from a group of patients initially seen during a period of time that cardiac surgery was being developed for congenital heart disease. Thus, the outlook should be even better for children who are currently undergoing treatment.