Hospital Survival After Surgical Repair of Truncus Arteriosus with Interrupted Aortic Arch: Results from a Multi-institutional Database

Truncus arteriosus (TA) is a major congenital cardiac malformation that requires surgical repair in the first few weeks of life. Interrupted aortic arch (IAA) is an associated malformation that significantly impacts the complexity of the TA operation. The aim of this study was to (1) define the comorbid conditions associated with TA and (2) determine the hospital survival and morbidity of patients with TA with and without an IAA. Data was collected from the Vizient Clinical Database/Resource Manager, formerly University HealthSystem Consortium, which encompasses more than 160 academic medical centers in the United States. The database was queried for patients admitted from 2002 to 2016 who were ≤ 4 months of age at initial admission, diagnosed with TA, and underwent complete surgical repair during that hospitalization. Of the 645 patients with TA who underwent surgery, 98 (15%) had TA with an interrupted aortic arch (TA-IAA). Both TA and TA-IAA were associated with a high prevalence of comorbidities, including DiGeorge syndrome, prematurity, and other congenital malformations. There was no difference in mortality between TA and TA-IAA (13.7–18.4%, p value = 0.227). No comorbid conditions were associated with an increased mortality in either group. However, patients with TA-IAA had a longer post-operative length of stay (LOS) compared to those without IAA (30 versus 40.3 days, p value = 0.001) and this effect was additive with each additional comorbid condition. In conclusion, the addition of IAA to TA is associated with an increased post-operative LOS, but does not increase in-hospital mortality.