Abstract 12102: The Racial Disparity Among Congenital Heart Disease Patients Post Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD), the most prevalent congenital disorder in newborns, is a leading cause of infant mortality. Mortality rates have declined over time with advancements in knowledge and management approaches. Despite these advancements, studies on racial disparities in CHD surgical mortality have yielded inconclusive results.

Objective: We aim to evaluate the disparity among the clinical outcomes post-CHD surgery.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PubMed, Embase, and Scopus utilizing predefined MeSH terms coupled with Boolean operators "AND" and "OR." The search strategy included the terms "congenital heart disease" AND "racial disparity" OR "minorities" OR "Black" OR "White" AND "mortality." Our meta-analysis sought observational studies published from inception until 10th March 2023 reporting post-surgical incidence of mortality in Black and White patients with CHD.

Results: We identified 5 studies, including 79616 patients with CHD. Of these, 15124 Black patients and 64492 White patients (20% vs. 80%) underwent CHD surgery. All included patients were less than 18 years of age with a definitive diagnosis of CHD. The mean length of hospital stay was (11.5 vs. 10.10) days, respectively. The pooled analysis showed that Black patients with CHD have significantly higher odds of postoperative mortality (OR, 1.46(95%CI: 1.31-1.62), P<0.001) with low heterogeneity across the studies.

Conclusion: This very first meta-analysis shows that Black patients are at increased risk of mortality post-CHD surgery compared to White patients.