National database study of survival of pediatric congenital heart disease patients in Taiwan

Abstract

Background/purpose: The incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) and severe CHD is 13.08 and 1.51/1000 live births, respectively, in Taiwan, which has had national health insurance since 1995 and child health indices similar to those in the US. This study sought to further elucidate the fatality of CHD patients and their survival from a national database.

Methods: From the national health insurance database 2000-2010, we retrieved data from CHD patients who were diagnosed at age <6 years. The survival status at discharge was ascertained for estimation of survival.

Results: In total, 18,843 pediatric CHD patients were identified. The overall prevalence of CHD was 1288 per 100 000 live-births. Severe CHD (tetralogy of Fallot (4.4%), transposition of the great arteries (1.6%) and double outlet right ventricle (1.1%)) accounted for 11.5% of all cases. The 1-month/5-year survival in simple and severe CHD was 99.1%/97.5% and 90.2%/76.4%, respectively (p < 0.0001). The Kaplan-Meier survival at 5 years of age was lowest for hypoplastic left heart syndrome (19.7%), followed by transposition of the great arteries (66.7%), double outlet right ventricle (69.0%), and common ventricle (66.0%). The 5-year survival of the birth cohort in the same study period was 99.3%.

Conclusion: This national database study revealed that the survival of children with simple CHD was still slightly lower than that of the general population and the survival of severe CHD patients, though only accounting for one-tenth of CHD cases, remained unsatisfactory. Such survival profiles are similar to those from Western reports and warrant a refined and dedicated medical care program for children with CHD.

Keywords: Taiwan; congenital heart disease; mortality; national health insurance.