The primary objectives of the study were to describe the association between cardiac manifestations and in-hospital mortality among children with hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Using the Pediatric Health Information System database, this retrospective, multicenter, cohort study identified the first hemolytic uremic syndrome-related inpatient visit among children ≤18 years (years 2004-2018). The frequency of selected cardiac manifestations and mortality rates were calculated. Multivariate analysis identified the association of specific cardiac manifestations and the risk of in-hospital mortality.

Among 3915 patients in the analysis, 238 (6.1%) had cardiac manifestations. A majority of patients (82.8%; n = 197) had 1 cardiac condition and 17.2% (n = 41) had ≥2 cardiac conditions. The most common cardiac conditions was pericardial disease (n = 102), followed by congestive heart failure (n = 46) and cardiomyopathy/myocarditis (n = 34). The percent mortality for patients with 0, 1, or ≥2 cardiac conditions was 2.1%, 17.3%, and 19.5%, respectively. Patients with any cardiac condition had an increased odds of mortality (OR, 9.74; P = .0001). In additional models, the presence of ≥2 cardiac conditions (OR, 9.90; P < .001), cardiac arrest (OR, 38.25; P < .001), or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation deployment (OR, 11.61; P < .001) were associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality.

This study identified differences in in-hospital mortality based on the type of cardiac manifestations, with increased risk observed for patients with multiple cardiac involvement, cardiac arrest, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation deployments.