Current Assessment of Mortality Rates in Congenital Cardiac Surgery

This outcomes “footprint” suggests that we could hold ourselves accountable to higher benchmarks than those reflected by some published standards. Mortality rates declined, despite an increase in case mix complexity. The lack of association between hospital surgical volume and mortality suggests that other factors determine outcomes at high-quality institutions. In addition to continually validating our expectations for treatment, future research needs to identify these factors by understanding the system of care and identifying process measures that influence outcomes.