Objectives and study design: To evaluate the morbidity and mortality of pre
term infants with congenital heart disease (CHD), a chart review was perfor
med for infants with CHD, excluding isolated patent ductus arteriosus, who
were <37 weeks' gestation, weighed <2500 g, and were admitted to our neonat
al intensive care unit from 1976 to 1999 (N = 201).
Results: patients in the stud?; represented 1.9% of the total neonatal inte
nsive care unit population <37 weeks' gestation and <2500 g. The median ges
tational age was 33 weeks, and the mean birth weight was 1852 g. CHD diagno
sis frequencies were similar to those reported in other large incidence stu
dies, except for a higher percentage of conotruncal defects. The risk of ne
crotizing enterocolitis was 1.7 times higher and the overall mortality twic
e as high in our patients compared with patients in the neonatal intensive
care unit who did not have CHD. Cardiac surgery (n = 133) was performed on
108 patients. During the recent period of 1985 to 1999, compared with our i
nstitution's overall results for CHD surgery, the operative mortality rate
was 10.4% versus 5.4% for closed procedures and 25.4% versus 10.5% for open
procedures. The actuarial survival rate is 51% at 10 years; survival impro
ved as the study period progressed.
Conclusions: Infants with both CHD and prematurity did significantly worse
than either group alone. Such outcome data are required for proper allocati
on of resources to care for this high-risk pediatric population.