Congenital heart diseaseCohort study
Immunodeficiency is prevalent in congenital heart disease and associated with increased risk of emergency admissions and death
- Retrospective cohort study
- population-based
- administrative German Health System data
- age-matched control group
Authors' conclusion
Limited immune competence is common in CHD patients and associated with an increased risk of morbidity and mortality.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with congenital heart disease (CHD), German administrative health data
- Participants
- 54,449 patients · 394,289 patient-years
- Exposure
- Increased susceptibility to infection (ISI) or documented immune deficiency syndromes (IDS) vs none in CHD patients
- ISIn = 14,998
- IDSn = 3,034
- Outcome
- Prevalence of ISI or confirmed IDS; prognostic significance for all-cause mortality and emergency hospital admission
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Prevalence of ISI and IDS in CHD
- Documented IDS in age-matched general population
- 2.9%
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | HR | P value |
|---|---|---|
| All-cause mortality (multivariable Cox analysis) — ISI · independent predictor | 2.14 | P < 0.001 |
| All-cause mortality (multivariable Cox analysis) — IDS · independent predictor | 1.77 | P = 0.035 |
- All-cause mortality (multivariable Cox analysis) — CHD patients who died
- 3824
- All-cause mortality (multivariable Cox analysis) — Combined all-cause mortality or emergency admission
- 31 017
Emergency hospital admission (competing risk analysis)
- ISI and confirmed IDS associated with significantly higher risk
- P = 0.01 for both
Original publication
Immunodeficiency is prevalent in congenital heart disease and associated with increased risk of emergency admissions and death. Eur Heart J. Published 7 February 2023. doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehad029
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it