Increasing age at time of pectus excavatum repair in children: Emerging consensus?

Dominic Papandria, Jamir Arlikar, Maria Grazia Sacco Casamassima, Gezzer Ortega, Jose H. Salazar, Yiyi Zhang, Jeffrey Lukish, Paul Colombani, Fizan Abdullah*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Advances in surgical technique for pectus excavatum repair continue to change practice patterns. The present study examines trends in operative age in a nationwide administrative database. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive analysis was performed using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and Kids' Inpatient Database (KID) data from 1998 to 2009. Pediatric discharges involving surgical repair of pectus excavatum were selected. Patients were sub-grouped by age at operation and calendar year of repair for further comparison. Results: A total of 5830 elective admissions were identified that met inclusion criteria. Mean age at operation was 13.5 years, and this increased from 11.8 years to 14.4 years over the period studied and was accompanied by narrowing of the interquartile range. Examined over groups of four calendar years, patient age at the time of repair was significantly higher in more recent years in both unadjusted and multivariate analyses (P <.001). Conclusions: The age at operation in this sample has steadily increased, with an accompanying decrease in variability. This is consistent with previous findings and with overall trends in patient selection reported in the literature. This selection pattern may reflect evolving consensus regarding optimal management of pectus excavatum and provide clinical guidance regarding appropriate referral and intervention.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)191-196
Number of pages6
JournalJournal of pediatric surgery
Volume48
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2013

Keywords

  • Kids' Inpatient Database
  • Nationwide Inpatient Sample
  • Operative timing
  • Pectus excavatum
  • Surgical outcomes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Surgery
  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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