Racial disparities in clinic follow‐up early in life among survivors of congenital heart disease

OBJECTIVE: The current study aims to identify the rates of lapses in care and loss to follow-up before age one through age five for white and nonwhite congenital heart disease (CHD) survivors. Nonwhite CHD survivors were hypothesized to experience an earlier lapse in care and be lost to follow-up than whites. DESIGN: Patients were from a large pediatric hospital and had (1) at least one outpatient cardiology clinic visit or cardiac surgery visit before the age of one and (2) a diagnosis of moderate or complex structural CHD. Cardiology outpatient utilization rates were tracked from before age one through age five. Lapse in follow-up was defined as not having at least one outpatient cardiology visit per year, and loss to follow-up was not returning after a lapse in care by age five. Race was categorized as white and nonwhite. Covariates included sex, insurance type, noncardiology inpatient and outpatient hospital utilization, and CHD severity. RESULTS: The sample included 1034 patients. Overall, 75.7% experienced a lapse in care with only 41.6% of those returning by age five. Nonwhites experienced lapses in care at younger ages than whites. Nonwhites had a 53% increased risk of lapse in care. Medicaid patients and those with moderate CHD diagnoses also had an increased risk for lapse in care. CONCLUSIONS: Lapse in care appears prevalent among CHD survivors by age five, with nonwhites demonstrating elevated risk. Future multisite prospective studies should include the assessment of parental knowledge, barriers to accessing care, and satisfaction with care.