Association of Rurality With Mortality After Congenital Heart Surgery | Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes
BACKGROUND: Disparities between metro and nonmetro areas exist in health outcomes. The effect of residing areas on mortality for patients with congenital heart disease remains unclear. We evaluated the relationship of residing areas with survival outcomes after congenital heart surgery (CHS). METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients enrolled in the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium who had a history of CHS. Outcomes were tracked by the National Death Index through 2022. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to examine the associations between residence at CHS with in-hospital mortality and long-term survival after adjustment for covariates. RESULTS: Among 28 504 eligible patients (47.0% female) with a history of CHS, 19 772 (69.4%) patients resided in metro areas. Patients with congenital heart disease living in nonmetro areas at CHS had a lower (86.5%) 30-year survival rate following discharge from initial CHS versus patients living in me
