In U.S., Black and Hispanic Children at Higher Risk of Death Post-surgery Than White Children

Despite unprecedented medical advances in the past century, healthcare disparities across race and ethnicity remain a pervasive problem, according to a new study in the August 2024 Pediatrics (published online July 29), “Race, Ethnicity, and Pediatric Post-Surgical Mortality: Current Trends and Future Projections.” Researchers studied data of surgical patients, under age 18, between 2000 and 2019 from the National Inpatient Sample, a probability-weighted sample of over 35 million hospitalizations from across the US. They found Black children were 42% more likely to die following surgery than white children. Additionally, postoperative mortality was 22% higher for Hispanic children than for white children. Authors estimated that during the study period, there were 4,700 excess deaths among Black children and 5,500 among Hispanic children, representing 10,200 excess deaths (an average of 536 additional deaths every year) due to health inequities. While health inequities were present in all communities, the risk of death after surgery in Black children was higher in the Northeast and West, and higher for Hispanic children in the Northeast. Additionally, the authors project postsurgical disparities will still exist in 2031. To eliminate postoperative mortality disparities between Black and white children by 2031, a 47.9% reduction in projected mortality rate would be necessary for Black children. Authors concluded that despite steady declines in the rates of post-surgical death among children, persistent racial and ethnic disparities exist and will continue unless robust, targeted actions are implemented to ensure equitable pediatric surgical outcomes. 

###

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.