Among apparently healthy children, Black children were 3.43 times more likely than white children to die within 30 days post-surgery, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
Researchers analyzed 2012-17 data from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric, identifying children who had inpatient operations and were assigned American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status 1 or 2.
Among 172,549 apparently healthy children, Black children had a 3.43-times higher likelihood of dying within 30 days post-surgery than white children. Black children had 18 percent relative greater odds of developing postoperative complications and 7 percent relative higher odds of developing serious adverse events than white children.
Even among apparently healthy children, being Black is strongly associated with a higher risk of postoperative complications and mortality, the researchers concluded.
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