- Status of cardiac surgical care for children with congenital heart defects in the Odesa region
Status of cardiac surgical care for children with congenital heart defects in the Odesa region
Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. (2026).2(154): 69-76. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.2(154).6976
Melnychenko M. H.1, Buzovskyi V. P.2, Vakaruk M. H.2, Baiazitova M. D.2
1Odesa National Medical University, Ukraine
2Odesa Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, Ukraine
For citation: Melnychenko MH, Buzovskyi VP, Vakaruk MH, Baiazitova MD. (2026). Status of cardiac surgical care for children with congenital heart defects in the Odesa region. Modern Pediatrics. Ukraine. 2(154): 69-76. doi: 10.15574/SP.2026.2(154).6976.
Article received: Dec 19, 2026. Accepted for publication: Mar 16, 2026.
The effectiveness of treatment for congenital heart defects in children is largely determined by the organization of regional care, including early detection, patient routing, and perioperative management.
Aim – to assess the status of cardiac surgical care for children with congenital heart defects (CHD) in the Odesa region during 2015–2024 based on key performance indicators and to identify practical directions for further improvement of the regional CHD care system.
Materials and methods. A retrospective single-center descriptive study based on aggregated data from annual reports of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of the Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise “Odesa Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital” of the Odesa Regional Council (2015-2024). Hospital admissions, discharges, mortality, surgical activity, postoperative mortality, the proportion of children under one year of age, and territorial distribution were analyzed. Data are presented as n and n (%), with comparison of the periods 2015-2019, 2020-2021, and 2022-2024.
Results. In 2015-2019, hospital admissions were relatively stable; in 2020-2021 they decreased; in 2022 they recovered; and in 2023-2024 a sharp increase in workload was observed (1,016 and 957 admissions). The proportion of children under one year of age remained substantial, and in 2023-2024 the absolute volumes of care for infants increased significantly. Postoperative mortality decreased in 2022-2024 to 0.93% in 2024; a considerable proportion of admissions from rural areas persisted.
Conclusions. The dynamics of 2015-2024 reflect phase-specific changes in care volumes and the sustained key role of infants in the patient flow structure. The reduction in postoperative mortality in the final years under high workload may indicate increased systemic capacity of the center in terms of preoperative assessment, optimal timing of interventions, and perioperative management.
The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee of the institution mentioned in the work.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Keywords: congenital heart defects; children; cardiac surgery; hospitalization; postoperative mortality; patient routing.
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