Complications following the Fontan procedure include prolonged pleural drainage and readmission for effusions. To address these complications, a post-Fontan management pathway was implemented with primary goals of reducing chest tube duration/reinsertion rates and decreasing hospital length of stay and readmissions.

Fontan patients were identified by retrospective chart review (2017–2019) to obtain baseline data for chest tube duration/reinsertion rates, hospital length of stay, and readmission rates for effusion. A post-Fontan management pathway was implemented (2020–2021) utilising post-operative vasopressin, nasal cannula oxygen until chest tube removal, and discharge regimen of three times daily diuretics, sildenafil, and afterload reducing medications. Patients were followed to evaluate primary outcomes.

The pre- and post-pathway groups were similar in single ventricle morphology, demographics, and pre-operative haemodynamics. Forty-three and 36 patients were included in the pre- and post-pathway cohorts, respectively. There were statistically significant reductions in chest tube duration (8 vs. 5 days, p ≤ 0.001), chest tube output on post-operative day 4 (20.4 vs. 9.9 mL/kg/day, p = 0.003), and hospital readmission rates for effusion (13[30%] vs. 3[8%], p = 0.02) compared to baseline. There was an absolute reduction in hospital length of stay (11 vs. 9.5 days, p = 0.052). When combining average cost savings for the Fontan hospitalisations, readmissions for effusion, and cardiac catheterisations within 6 months of Fontan completion, there was a $325,144 total cost savings for 36 patients following pathway implementation.

Implementation of a post-Fontan management pathway resulted in significant reductions in chest tube duration and output, and readmission rates for effusion in the perioperative period.

Prolonged effusions post-Fontan procedure are associated with morbidity. Fontan patients have higher pro-inflammatory cytokines in chest tube drainage compared to controls. Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory medication, decreases effusions in adults after cardiac surgery. We hypothesised that patients post-Fontan treated with colchicine would have decreased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels and shorter duration of chest tube drainage.

This pilot clinical trial enrolled nine patients (intention to treat); five completed the protocol (per protocol). Post-operative Fontan patients 20 months to 5 years receiving colchicine were compared to a previously published control cohort (n = 25). Per protocol patients received 0.6 mg colchicine daily starting post-operative day 2, ending 1 day after chest tube removal. Chest tube samples were taken on days 1–4, 7 and 10, or until removal and analysed with a 17-cytokine Bio-Plex Assay. Descriptive statistics and basic univariate comparisons were made.

There was no difference in duration of chest tube drainage or length of stay between intention to treat patients and controls. Per protocol patients had shorter duration of chest tube drainage compared to controls (6 days [interquartile range 4.7–7], versus 10 days [7–11], p = 0.007) and shorter length of stay (7 days [5.5–9] versus 9 days [9–13], p = 0.005). Pro-inflammatory cytokines trended lower in per protocol patients.

In this pilot cohort, patients who completed the colchicine protocol post-Fontan procedure had shortened duration of chest tube drainage and length of stay. A decrease of pro-inflammatory cytokines may contribute to the mechanism of this change.

ClinicalTrials.gov: Colchicine in Postoperative Fontan Patients (CPFP); NCT03575572; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03575572.