Is Clinic Visit Frequency Associated with Weight Gain During the Interstage Period? A Report from the Joint Council on Congenital Heart Disease National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative (JCCHD-NPCQIC).

Growth problems are prevalent among infants with congenital heart disease. We sought to determine whether frequency of outpatient clinic visits correlated with weight gain in patients with hypoplastic left heart syndrome or variant during the interstage period between discharge from stage I palliation and presentation for stage II palliation (SIIP). Using prospectively collected data from the JCCHD NPC-QIC database from June 2008 to July 2013, we performed a retrospective cohort study assessing the association of days between clinic visits (DBV) with the change in weight-for-age z-score (WAZ) during the interstage period.