Post-infarction ventricular septal defect surgery in Portugal

We performed a collective analysis of a dedicated national post-myocardial infarction ventricular septal defect (VSD) registry to further elucidate controversial areas of this clinical entity's surgical treatment.

A descriptive statistical analysis was carried out and cumulative survival using the Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate logistic regression of risk factors for 30-day mortality are presented.

Median survival of the cohort (n=76) was 72 months (95% CI 4-144 months). Better cumulative survival was observed in patients who underwent VSD closure more than 10 days after myocardial infarction (log-rank p=0.036). Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), different closure techniques, location of the VSD, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation as bridge to closure, or intra-aortic balloon pump as bridge to closure showed no statistically significant differences at Kaplan-Meier analysis. Multivariate binary logistic regression for independent factors affecting status at 30 days showed a statistically significant effect of age (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.01-1.15) and concomitant CABG (OR 0.23; 95% CI 0.06-0.90).

Our results are comparable with previous reports regarding mortality, risk factors and concomitant procedures. Timing of surgery remains a controversial issue. Later closure seems to be advantageous, however, there is significant observational bias.