EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH

Epidemiology Research

Epidemiology projects have been conducted in Australia and New Zealand to investigate the likely incidence and nature of congenital heart disease treated in these regions, and are expected to deliver publishable outcomes in 2019.

Dr Tom Gentles and Dr Clare O'Donnell from the Green Lane Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Service at Starship Children's Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand are studying the trends in cardiac surgery and burden of disease in congenital heart disease in New Zealand. They presented on the factors associated with mortality found in three decades of surgery for Congenital heart disease and the risk of mortality in midlife at the Cardiac Society Meeting of ANZ in 20181,2.

Prof Strange, A/Prof Nelson Alphonso and A/Prof Robert Justo from Queensland Children’s Hospital, Australia, studied a two-year snapshot of the prevalence and burden of management of congenital heart disease in QLD. They presented on this study at the Cardiac Society Meeting of ANZ in 2018 and have recently published this study3 showing a total health care cost of $13.6 million/annum for 2,519 patients.

References:

Gentles T, Finucane K, Hashemi L, Emslie O, Moray A, O’Donnell C. Three Decades of Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease: Factors Associated With Mortality. Hear Lung Circ [Internet]. 2018;27(Figure 1):S405–6. {Link to Publication}
O’Donnell C, Finucane K, Brett S, Hashemi L, Hashemi A, Gentles T. Risk of Mortality in Midlife? Adult Coronary Heart Disease Outcomes of Three Decades of Congenital Heart Disease Surgery. Hear Lung Circ [Internet]. 2018;27:S402. {Link to Publication}
Strange G, Veerappan S, Alphonso N, Refeld S, Simon S, Justo R. Prevalence and Cost of Managing Paediatric Cardiac Disease in Queensland. Heart Lung Circ. 2021 Feb;30(2):254-260. doi: 10.1016/j.hlc.2020.06.002.