The reduction in hospital stay and costs in the care of patients with congenital heart diseases undergoing fast-track cardiac surgery.

Objective: To assess the care provided to patients with congenital heart diseases and ischemic heart diseases undergoing cardiac surgery according to the fast-track recovery protocol compared with those undergoing the conventional procedure.

Methods: The transfer of patients from one hospital unit to another was assessed for 175 patients, 107 (61%) men and 68 (39%) women, with ages ranging from 0.3 to 81 years.