The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether published and widely quoted mortality rates for pediatric cardiac surgery accurately reflect current expectations. Our hypotheses are that (1) mortality rates at high-quality pediatric cardiac programs are lower than published national results despite (2) a change in case mix with a shift away from low complexity operations.
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Doernbecher Children's Hospital, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239-3098, USA. welkek@ohsu.edu
