Utilisation of a post-Fontan management pathway reduces chest tube drainage and hospital readmission rates.

Background: Complications following the Fontan procedure include prolonged pleural drainage and readmission for effusions. To address these complications, a post-Fontan management pathway was implemented with primary goals of reducing chest tube duration/reinsertion rates and decreasing hospital length of stay and readmissions.

Methods: Fontan patients were identified by retrospective chart review (2017-2019) to obtain baseline data for chest tube duration/reinsertion rates, hospital length of stay, and readmission rates for effusion. A post-Fontan management pathway was implemented (2020-2021) utilising post-operative vasopressin, nasal cannula oxygen until chest tube removal, and discharge regimen of three times daily diuretics, sildenafil, and afterload reducing medications. Patients were followed to evaluate primary outcomes.

Results: The pre- and post-pathway groups were similar in single ventricle morphology, demographics, and pre-operative haemodynamics. Forty-three and 36 patients were included in the pre- and post-pathway cohorts, respectively. There were statistically significant reductions in chest tube duration (8 vs. 5 days, ≤ 0.001), chest tube output on post-operative day 4 (20.4 vs. 9.9 mL/kg/day, = 0.003), and hospital readmission rates for effusion (13[30%] vs. 3[8%], = 0.02) compared to baseline. There was an absolute reduction in hospital length of stay (11 vs. 9.5 days, = 0.052). When combining average cost savings for the Fontan hospitalisations, readmissions for effusion, and cardiac catheterisations within 6 months of Fontan completion, there was a $325,144 total cost savings for 36 patients following pathway implementation.

Conclusion: Implementation of a post-Fontan management pathway resulted in significant reductions in chest tube duration and output, and readmission rates for effusion in the perioperative period.