Risk factors for systemic inflammatory response after congenital cardiac surgery

This study aims to assess the frequency of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) following congenital heart surgery and risk factors associated with this clinical syndrome.

Charts of all patients undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease in a single institution over a five-year period were analyzed retrospectively. The presence of SIRS was evaluated based on the criteria of the International Pediatric Sepsis Consensus Conference.

Of the 246 patients included in the study 22 (8.9%) had clinical parameters indicating SIRS. The patients in the SIRS group had significantly longer cardiopulmonary bypass time (105.14 ± 27.27 vs. 66.86 ± 26.64 min; p < 0.01), aortic cross clamp time (69.36 ± 21.52 vs. 44.30 ± 24.27 min; p < 0.01), higher postoperative alanine aminotransferase (1419.00 ± 3260.99 vs. 81.95 ± 808.61 U/L; p < 0.01) and aspartate aminotransferase (2137.14 ± 4905.40 vs. 171.33 ± 1303.21 U/L; p < 0.01), white blood cell counts (20,827 ± 3603 vs. 12,242 ± 3782/µL; p < 0.01) and lower body surface area (0.52 ± 0.32 vs. 0.71 ± 0.36 m(2) ; p < 0.05) compared to patients in the no-SIRS group. Binary logistic regression revealed cardiopulmonary bypass time (OR: 1.05, p < 0.05), low body weight (<10 kg) (OR: 2.44; p < 0.05), and preoperative diagnosis of right to left shunt congenital heart disease (OR: 8.06; p < 0.01) as independent predictors of SIRS. SIRS was also found to be a strong independent predictor of mortality (OR: 10.13, p < 0.01).

SIRS after congenital heart surgery is associated with increased mortality. Independent risk factors for SIRS in the patient population of the study were cardiopulmonary bypass time, body weight below 10 kg and preoperative diagnosis of right to left shunt congenital heart disease.