OBJECTIVE: To describe the profile of children that undergo surgical correction of congenital heart disease (CHD) in a university hospital and to compare patients with and without postoperative respiratory complications. METHOD: This observational analytical study reviewed the records of children that underwent corrective surgery for CHD a Brazilian University Hospital during 11 months. The following demographic variables were collected: age, sex, body mass index, comorbidities, and CHD types. Demographic variables and data about the intra- and postoperative care were compared for patients with and without postoperative respiratory complications. The Mann-Whitney and the Fisher exact tests were used, and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 55 children (49% boys) whose median age was 37.5 months. Three or more CHD were found in 29.1%, and 53% of all cases had comorbidities. The analysis of postoperative respiratory complications revealed that 31% of the patients had atelectasis and pleural effusion and 5.5% had laryngitis, pneumomediastinum or lung injury. Non-respiratory complications were identified in 24% of the patients. Survival was 89%. Children with postoperative respiratory complications received mechanical ventilation for a longer time and had a prolonged hospital stay (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The association between respiratory complications, longer mechanical ventilation and longer hospital stay reinforced the need to avoid such complications to reduce costs of a prolonged hospital stay.
heart defects; congenital; thoracic surgery; clinical evolution; intensive care units; pediatrics
