The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database: 2021 Update on Outcomes and Research

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Congenital Heart Surgery Database is a comprehensive clinical outcomes registry which captures almost all pediatric cardiac surgical operations in the United States. It is the platform for all activities of the STS related to the analysis of outcomes and improvement of quality in this subspecialty. This article summarizes current aggregate national outcomes in congenital and pediatric cardiac surgery performed between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2020. The reported data on aggregate national outcomes are exemplified by an analysis of pre-specified ten benchmark operation groups performed. This article further reviews related activities in the areas of data collection and analysis, quality measurement, performance improvement, and research.