Can 18‐years of data from a tertiary referral center help to identify risk factors in esophageal atresia?

Background Esophageal atresia is a complex esophageal malformation with an incidence of 1 in 3,500–4,000 live births, and it usually occurs together with anomalies in other systems or chromosomes. This study aimed to investigate the short‐term and long‐term results of cases of esophageal atresia retrospectively in our institution and to analyze the factors affecting the outcome. Methods Charts of the patients managed for esophageal atresia in our tertiary pediatric surgery department were investigated retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed to determine the risk factors for morbidity and mortality. Results One hundred and thirteen (95.8%) of 118 cases underwent a single‐stage or staged esophagoesophagostomy procedure. In only five of the 40 patients with a long gap between the two atretic ends was an esophageal replacement procedure required. The most common early and late complications were anastomotic stenosis (41.6%) and gastroesophageal reflux (44.9%). In logistic regression analysis, the birthweight (OR [95% CI] = 0.998 [0.997, 0.999], P = 0.001) and preoperative inotrope requirement (OR [95% CI] = 13.8 [3.6–53.3], P