Effect of comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders on children and adolescents undergoing surgery for moderate and severe congenital heart disease

Background: Children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at an increased risk of neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs). The purpose of this study is to determine how a comorbid NPD affects hospital outcomes and costs for CHD patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Methods: Retrospective review of the 2000-2012 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Databases for admissions 10 to 21 years old with an ICD-9 code for moderate or severe CHD and a procedure code for cardiopulmonary bypass as a marker for cardiac surgery; admissions with syndromes that could be associated with NPD were excluded. Demographics, hospital outcomes, and charges were compared between admissions with and without NPD ICD-9 codes using analysis of variance, independent samples Kruskal-Wallis, and χ², as appropriate. Results: There were 4768 admissions with CHD and cardiac surgery: 4285 (90%) with no NPD, 93 (2%) with cognitive deficits, 390 (8%) with mood/behavior deficits. Patients with NPD had a longer length of stay and higher mean charges (P <.001 for both). Patients with mood/behavior deficits were older and patients with cognitive deficits were more likely female (P <.001 for both). Conclusions: Children and adolescents with moderate or severe CHD and NPD who undergo cardiac surgery incur longer hospital stays and higher charges. Recognizing and addressing the underlying NPDs may be important to improve postoperative progression for children and adolescents with CHD hospitalized for cardiac surgery.