African-American children are three and a half times more likely to die after surgery than white children, according to a study from Children's Hospital in Columbus.
Lead author Dr. Olubukola Nafiu says it's well known African Americans tend to have more unrelated health issues before surgery, and tend to have poorer outcomes afterward. A survey of over 172-thousand otherwise healthy children showed while the risk of surgery overall was low, black children were 3.4 times more likely to die after surgery than white children, and were 18% more likely to develop one or more major complications after surgery.
"Essentially it suggests that the African American child - whether they're healthy or whether they're sick - deserves further preventative measures in order to reduce their risks of morbidity or mortality. Also that mechanisms underlying this observed differences even in this apparently healthy group of children deserve further elucidation. "
The study will be published in the medical journal Pediatrics.
