Congenital Cardiac Catheterization in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: The International Quality Improvement...

No published data are available on the patient, procedural characteristics, and outcomes of congenital heart disease (CHD) cardiac catheterization performed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The objective of this study was to describe procedural characteristics and patient outcomes of CHD cardiac catheterizations in LMICs.

Cases performed between January 2019 and December 2020 from 15 centers in the International Quality Improvement Collaborative Congenital Heart Disease Catheterization Registry (IQIC-CHDCR) data were included. The Procedural Risk in Congenital Cardiac Catheterization (PREDIC3T) classification was used to stratify risk. Outcomes of interest included mortality, severe adverse events (SAEs), and procedural efficacy. Procedural efficacy, based on technical and safety endpoints, was categorized into optimal, adequate, and inadequate for 5 common interventional procedures.

There were 3,287 cases, of which 60% (n = 1,973) were interventional cases. Most of the cases (66%) were in patients between the ages of 1 to 18 years with a median patient age of 4 years. PREDIC3T risk class 1 and 2 were most common in 37% and 38% of cases, respectively. SAEs occurred in 2.8% while the death was reported within <72 hours post catheterization 1%. The majority of device implantation procedures patent ductus arteriosus (67%) and atrial septal defect (60%) had optimal procedure efficacy outcomes.

This study demonstrates that congenital cardiac catheterization is safely performed in LMICs. Future work addressing predictors of SAEs and adverse procedural outcomes may help future quality improvement initiatives.