Danielle S Burstein1, Heather Griffis2, Xuemei Zhang2, Ryan S Cantor3, Dingwei Dai2, Pirouz Shamszad4, Yuan-Shung Huang2, David L S Morales5, Matthew Hall6, Kimberly Y Lin4, Matthew J O'Connor4, Matthew Zinn7, R Erik Edens8, P Eugene Parrino9, James K Kirklin10, Joseph W Rossano4. 1. Division of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Electronic address: bursteind@email.chop.edu. 2. Healthcare Analytics Unit, Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness and PolicyLab, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 3. Kirklin Institute for Research in Surgical Outcomes, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama. 4. Division of Cardiology, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 5. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. 6. Children's Hospital Association, Lenexa, Kansas. 7. Division of Cardiology, The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 8. Department of Pediatrics, Children's Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 9. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Ochsner Clinic Foundation, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10. Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Paracorporeal continuous-flow ventricular assist devices (PCF VAD) are increasingly used in pediatrics, yet PCF VAD resource utilization has not been reported to date. METHODS: Pediatric Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (PediMACS), a national registry of VADs in children, and Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS), an administrative database of children's hospitals, were merged to assess VAD implants from 19 centers between 2012 and 2016. Resource utilization, including hospital and intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), and costs are analyzed for PCF VAD, durable VAD (DVAD), and combined PCF-DVAD support. RESULTS: Of 177 children (20% PCF VAD, 14% PCF-DVAD, 66% DVAD), those with PCF VAD or PCF-DVAD are younger (median age 4 [IQR 0-10] years and 3 [IQR 0-9] years, respectively) and more often have congenital heart disease (44%; 28%, respectively) compared to DVAD (11 [IQR 3-17] years; 14% CHD); p < 0.01 for both. Median post-VAD LOS is prolonged ranging from 43 (IQR 15-82) days in PCF VAD to 72 (IQR 55-107) days in PCF-DVAD, with significant hospitalization costs (PCF VAD $450,000 [IQR $210,000-$780,000]; PCF-DVAD $770,000 [IQR $510,000-$1,000,000]). After adjusting for patient-level factors, greater post-VAD hospital costs are associated with LOS, ECMO pre-VAD, greater chronic complex conditions, and major adverse events (p < 0.05 for all). VAD strategy and underlying cardiac disease are not associated with LOS or overall costs, although PCF VAD is associated with higher daily-level costs driven by increased pharmacy, laboratory, imaging, and clinical services costs. CONCLUSION: Pediatric PCF VAD resource utilization is staggeringly high with costs primarily driven by pre-implantation patient illness, hospital LOS, and clinical care costs.
BACKGROUND: Paracorporeal continuous-flow ventricular assist devices (PCF VAD) are increasingly used in pediatrics, yet PCF VAD resource utilization has not been reported to date. METHODS: Pediatric Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support (PediMACS), a national registry of VADs in children, and Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS), an administrative database of children's hospitals, were merged to assess VAD implants from 19 centers between 2012 and 2016. Resource utilization, including hospital and intensive care unit length of stay (LOS), and costs are analyzed for PCF VAD, durable VAD (DVAD), and combined PCF-DVAD support. RESULTS: Of 177 children (20% PCF VAD, 14% PCF-DVAD, 66% DVAD), those with PCF VAD or PCF-DVAD are younger (median age 4 [IQR 0-10] years and 3 [IQR 0-9] years, respectively) and more often have congenital heart disease (44%; 28%, respectively) compared to DVAD (11 [IQR 3-17] years; 14% CHD); p < 0.01 for both. Median post-VAD LOS is prolonged ranging from 43 (IQR 15-82) days in PCF VAD to 72 (IQR 55-107) days in PCF-DVAD, with significant hospitalization costs (PCF VAD $450,000 [IQR $210,000-$780,000]; PCF-DVAD $770,000 [IQR $510,000-$1,000,000]). After adjusting for patient-level factors, greater post-VAD hospital costs are associated with LOS, ECMO pre-VAD, greater chronic complex conditions, and major adverse events (p < 0.05 for all). VAD strategy and underlying cardiac disease are not associated with LOS or overall costs, although PCF VAD is associated with higher daily-level costs driven by increased pharmacy, laboratory, imaging, and clinical services costs. CONCLUSION: Pediatric PCF VAD resource utilization is staggeringly high with costs primarily driven by pre-implantation patient illness, hospital LOS, and clinical care costs.
Authors: Gretel Monreal; Steven C Koenig; Mark S Slaughter; Gino F Morello; Steven R Prina; Landon H Tompkins; Jiapeng Huang; Barry N Gellman; Kurt A Dasse Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-05-11 Impact factor: 3.240