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MONDAY, March 19, 2018 (HealthDay News) — For neonates undergoing congenital heart surgery (CHS), vocal fold motion impairment (VFMI) is associated with increased costs due to increased post-procedure length of stay (PPLOS), according to a study published online March 15 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Stephanie Elyse Ambrose, M.D., from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and colleagues examined the cost, PPLOS, and outcomes for neonates with VFMI after CHS in a cross-sectional analysis of the 2012 Kids’ Inpatient Database. A total of 4,139 neonates who underwent CHS were identified; 3,725 of them survived. Overall, 6.92 percent of the neonates who survived were diagnosed with VFMI.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that compared to neonates without VFMI diagnoses, those with VFMI had significantly higher total cost (by $34,000) and 9.1 days longer PPLOS. The presence of VFMI was no longer significant when PPLOS was included as a covariate in the model for cost. No differences were seen in the odds of pneumonia, gastrostomy, or tracheostomy.<\/p>\n
“Vocal fold motion impairment after CHS was associated with significant increases in cost owing to increased PPLOS,” the authors write. “These findings provide a foundation to further investigate standardized screening for VFMI following CHS; early identification and treatment may decrease cost and PPLOS.”<\/p>\n
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