Study reports presence of cardiac Manifestations among Children with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome

Dr Emily Sanders and colleagues from the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Health Policy and Management, Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas have carried out the study with the primary objectives to describe the association between cardiac manifestations and in-hospital mortality among children with Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS).

Using the Pediatric Health Information System database, the authors identified this retrospective, multi-center, cohort study which further analysed the first HUS-related inpatient visit among children <=18 years. Frequency of selected cardiac manifestations and mortality rates were calculated. Multivariate analysis identified the association of specific cardiac manifestations and the risk of in-hospital mortality.

The investigations revealed the following results-

6. Among 3,915 patients in the analysis, 238 (6.1%) had cardiac manifestations.
7. A majority of patients (82.8%; n=197) had 1 cardiac condition, 17.2% (n=41) had 2, or or more cardiac conditions.
8. The most common cardiac conditions was pericardial disease (n=102), followed by congestive heart failure (n=46), and cardiomyopathy/ myocarditis (n=34).
9. The percent mortality for patients with 0, 1, 2 or more cardiac conditions was 2.1%, 17.3%, and 19.5%, respectively.
10. Patients with any cardiac condition had an increased odds of mortality (OR 9.74; P = .0001).
11. In additional models, the presence of 2 or more cardiac conditions (OR-9.90; p<0.001), cardiac arrest (OR- 38.25; p<0.001), or ECMO deployment (OR- 11.61; p<0.001) were associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality.

Hence, it was concluded that "this study identified differences in in-hospital mortality based on the type of cardiac manifestations, with increased risk observed for patients with multiple cardiac involvement, cardiac arrest, and ECMO deployment."