Pediatric Organ Dysfunction Information Update Mandate (PODIUM) Contemporary Organ Dysfunction Criteria: Executive Summary.

Prior criteria for organ dysfunction in critically ill children were based mainly on expert opinion. We convened the Pediatric Organ Dysfunction Information Update Mandate (PODIUM) expert panel to summarize data characterizing single and multiple organ dysfunction and to derive contemporary criteria for pediatric organ dysfunction. The panel was composed of 88 members representing 47 institutions and 7 countries. We conducted systematic reviews of the literature to derive evidence-based criteria for single organ dysfunction for neurologic, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, acute liver, renal, hematologic, coagulation, endocrine, endothelial, and immune system dysfunction. We searched PubMed and Embase from January 1992 to January 2020. Study identification was accomplished using a combination of medical subject headings terms and keywords related to concepts of pediatric organ dysfunction. Electronic searches were performed by medical librarians. Studies were eligible for inclusion if the authors reported original data collected in critically ill children; evaluated performance characteristics of scoring tools or clinical assessments for organ dysfunction; and assessed a patient-centered, clinically meaningful outcome. Data were abstracted from each included study into an electronic data extraction form. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality in Prognosis Studies tool. Consensus was achieved for a final set of 43 criteria for pediatric organ dysfunction through iterative voting and discussion. Although the PODIUM criteria for organ dysfunction were limited by available evidence and will require validation, they provide a contemporary foundation for researchers to identify and study single and multiple organ dysfunction in critically ill children.

Cardiovascular Dysfunction Criteria in Critically Ill Children: The PODIUM Consensus Conference.

CONTEXT: Cardiovascular dysfunction is associated with poor outcomes in critically ill children. OBJECTIVE: We aim to derive an evidence-informed, consensus-based definition of cardiovascular dysfunction in critically ill children. DATA SOURCES: Electronic searches of PubMed and Embase were conducted from January 1992 to January 2020 using medical subject heading terms and text words to define concepts of cardiovascular dysfunction, pediatric critical illness, and outcomes of interest. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if they evaluated critically ill children with cardiovascular dysfunction and assessment and/or scoring tools to screen for cardiovascular dysfunction and assessed mortality, functional status, organ-specific, or other patient-centered outcomes. Studies of adults, premature infants (≤36 weeks gestational age), animals, reviews and/or commentaries, case series (sample size ≤10), and non-English-language studies were excluded. Studies of children with cyanotic congenital heart disease or cardiovascular dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass were excluded. DATA EXTRACTION: Data were abstracted from each eligible study into a standard data extraction form, along with risk-of-bias assessment by a task force member. RESULTS: Cardiovascular dysfunction was defined by 9 elements, including 4 which indicate severe cardiovascular dysfunction. Cardiopulmonary arrest (>5 minutes) or mechanical circulatory support independently define severe cardiovascular dysfunction, whereas tachycardia, hypotension, vasoactive-inotropic score, lactate, troponin I, central venous oxygen saturation, and echocardiographic estimation of left ventricular ejection fraction were included in any combination. There was expert agreement (>80%) on the definition. LIMITATIONS: All included studies were observational and many were retrospective. CONCLUSIONS: The Pediatric Organ Dysfunction Information Update Mandate panel propose this evidence-informed definition of cardiovascular dysfunction.

Characteristics and Symptoms of App Users Seeking COVID-19-Related Digital Health Information and Remote Services: Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Patient-facing digital health tools have been promoted to help patients manage concerns related to COVID-19 and to enable remote care and self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also been suggested that these tools can help further our understanding of the clinical characteristics of this new disease. However, there is limited information on the characteristics and use patterns of these tools in practice. OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study are to describe the characteristics of people who use digital health tools to address COVID-19-related concerns; explore their self-reported symptoms and characterize the association of these symptoms with COVID-19; and characterize the recommendations provided by digital health tools. METHODS: This study used data from three digital health tools on the K Health app: a protocol-based COVID-19 self-assessment, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven symptom checker, and communication with remote physicians. Deidentified data were extracted on the demographic and clinical characteristics of adults seeking COVID-19-related health information between April 8 and June 20, 2020. Analyses included exploring features associated with COVID-19 positivity and features associated with the choice to communicate with a remote physician. RESULTS: During the period assessed, 71,619 individuals completed the COVID-19 self-assessment, 41,425 also used the AI-driven symptom checker, and 2523 consulted with remote physicians. Individuals who used the COVID-19 self-assessment were predominantly female (51,845/71,619, 72.4%), with a mean age of 34.5 years (SD 13.9). Testing for COVID-19 was reported by 2901 users, of whom 433 (14.9%) reported testing positive. Users who tested positive for COVID-19 were more likely to have reported loss of smell or taste (relative rate [RR] 6.66, 95% CI 5.53-7.94) and other established COVID-19 symptoms as well as ocular symptoms. Users communicating with a remote physician were more likely to have been recommended by the self-assessment to undergo immediate medical evaluation due to the presence of severe symptoms (RR 1.19, 95% CI 1.02-1.32). Most consultations with remote physicians (1940/2523, 76.9%) were resolved without need for referral to an in-person visit or to the emergency department. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that digital health tools can help support remote care and self-management of COVID-19 and that self-reported symptoms from digital interactions can extend our understanding of the symptoms associated with COVID-19.

Reclassifying by highest complexity operation rather than first operation influences mortality after pediatric heart surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect on mortality of reclassifying patients undergoing pediatric heart reoperations of varying complexity by operation of highest complexity instead of by first operation. METHODS: Data from the Virtual Pediatric Systems Database on children aged < 18 years who underwent heart surgery (with or without cardiopulmonary bypass) were included (2009-2015). Only patients who underwent reoperations during the same hospitalization were included. Patients were classified based on the first cardiovascular operation (the index operation), and on the complexity of the operation (the operation with the highest Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery [STAT] mortality category of each hospital admission) performed. RESULTS: Of 51,047 patients (73 centers), 22,393 met inclusion criteria. Using index operation as the classifying operation, the number of patients classified in the STAT 1 category increased by approximately 2.5 times compared with the highest-complexity operation (index, 7,077 and highest complexity, 2,654). In contrast, when the highest-complexity classification was used, we noted an increase in the number of patients in other STAT categories. We also noted higher mortality in all STAT categories when patients were classified by index operation instead of by highest complexity (index vs highest STAT category 1, 0.6% vs 0.2%; category 2, 2.4% vs 0.8%; category 3, 3.1% vs 2.1%; category 4, 5.8% vs 5.6%; and category 5, 16.7% vs 16.5%). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates differences in the reported number of patients and reported mortality in each STAT category among children undergoing various heart reoperations during the same hospitalization by classifying patients based on index operation compared with the operation of highest complexity.

Performance of Pediatric Risk of Mortality Score Among Critically Ill Children With Heart Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performance of the Pediatric Risk of Mortality 3 (PRISM-3) score in critically ill children with heart disease. METHODS: Patients <18 years of age admitted with cardiac diagnoses (cardiac medical and cardiac surgical) to one of the participating pediatric intensive care units in the Virtual Pediatric Systems, LLC, database were included. Performance of PRISM-3 was evaluated with discrimination and calibration measures among both cardiac surgical and cardiac medical patients. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 87,993 patients, of which 49% were cardiac medical patients (n = 43,545) and 51% were cardiac surgical patients (n = 44,448). The ability of PRISM-3 to distinguish survivors from nonsurvivors was acceptable for the entire cohort (c-statistic 0.86). However, PRISM-3 did not perform as well when stratified by varied severity of illness categories. Pediatric Risk of Mortality 3 underpredicted mortality among patients with lower severity of illness categories (quintiles 1-4) whereas it overpredicted mortality among patients with greatest severity of illness category (fifth quintile). When stratified by Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery (STS-EACTS) categories, PRISM-3 overpredicted mortality among the STS-EACTS mortality categories 1, 2, and 3 and underpredicted mortality among the STS-EACTS mortality categories 4 and 5. Pediatric Risk of Mortality 3 overpredicted mortality among centers with high cardiac surgery volume whereas it underpredicted mortality among centers with low cardiac surgery volume. CONCLUSION: Data from this large multicenter study do not support the use of PRISM-3 in cardiac surgical or cardiac medical patients. In this study, the ability of PRISM-3 to distinguish survivors from nonsurvivors was fair at best, and the accuracy with which it predicted death was poor.

American College of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Parameters for Hemodynamic Support of Pediatric and Neonatal Septic Shock.

OBJECTIVES: The American College of Critical Care Medicine provided 2002 and 2007 guidelines for hemodynamic support of newborn and pediatric septic shock. Provide the 2014 update of the 2007 American College of Critical Care Medicine "Clinical Guidelines for Hemodynamic Support of Neonates and Children with Septic Shock." DESIGN: Society of Critical Care Medicine members were identified from general solicitation at Society of Critical Care Medicine Educational and Scientific Symposia (2006-2014). The PubMed/Medline/Embase literature (2006-14) was searched by the Society of Critical Care Medicine librarian using the keywords: sepsis, septicemia, septic shock, endotoxemia, persistent pulmonary hypertension, nitric oxide, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and American College of Critical Care Medicine guidelines in the newborn and pediatric age groups. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The 2002 and 2007 guidelines were widely disseminated, translated into Spanish and Portuguese, and incorporated into Society of Critical Care Medicine and American Heart Association/Pediatric Advanced Life Support sanctioned recommendations. The review of new literature highlights two tertiary pediatric centers that implemented quality improvement initiatives to improve early septic shock recognition and first-hour compliance to these guidelines. Improved compliance reduced hospital mortality from 4% to 2%. Analysis of Global Sepsis Initiative data in resource rich developed and developing nations further showed improved hospital mortality with compliance to first-hour and stabilization guideline recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The major new recommendation in the 2014 update is consideration of institution-specific use of 1) a "recognition bundle" containing a trigger tool for rapid identification of patients with septic shock, 2) a "resuscitation and stabilization bundle" to help adherence to best practice principles, and 3) a "performance bundle" to identify and overcome perceived barriers to the pursuit of best practice principles.

An Elevated Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score Is Associated With Morbidity in Infants After Congenital Heart Surgery.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate an empirically derived Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score as a clinical assessment tool for the presence and severity of Low Cardiac Output Syndrome and to examine its association with clinical outcomes in infants who underwent surgical repair or palliation of congenital heart defects. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: Cardiac ICU at Seattle Children's Hospital. PATIENTS: Infants undergoing surgical repair or palliation of congenital heart defects. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Clinical and laboratory data were recorded hourly for the first 24 hours after surgery. A Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score was calculated by assigning one point for each of the following: tachycardia, oliguria, toe temperature less than 30°C, need for volume administration in excess of 30 mL/kg/d, decreased near infrared spectrometry measurements, hyperlactatemia, and need for vasoactive/inotropes in excess of milrinone at 0.5 µg/kg/min. A cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score was determined by summation of Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score on arrival to cardiac ICU, and 8, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Scores were analyzed for association with composite morbidity (prolonged mechanical ventilation, new infection, cardiopulmonary arrest, neurologic event, renal dysfunction, necrotizing enterocolitis, and extracorporeal life support) and resource utilization. Fifty-four patients were included. Overall composite morbidity was 33.3%. Median peak Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score and cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score were higher in patients with composite morbidity (3 [2-5] vs 2 [1-3]; p = 0.003 and 8 [5-10] vs 2.5 [1-5]; p < 0.001)]. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score versus composite morbidity was 0.83, optimal cutoff of greater than 6. Patients with cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score greater than or equal to 7 had higher morbidity, longer duration of mechanical ventilation, cardiac ICU, and hospital length of stay (all p ≤ 0.001). After adjusting for other relevant variables, peak Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score and cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score were independently associated with composite morbidity (odds ratio, 2.57; 95% CI, 1.12-5.9 and odds ratio, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.09-1.67, respectively). CONCLUSION: Higher peak Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score and cumulative Low Cardiac Output Syndrome Score were associated with increased morbidity and resource utilization among infants following surgery for congenital heart defects and might be a useful tools in future cardiac intensive care research. Independent validation is required.

Outcomes Analysis and Quality Improvement in Children With Congenital and Acquired Cardiovascular Disease.

OBJECTIVES: In this review, the current state of outcomes analysis and quality improvement in children with acquired and congenital cardiovascular disease will be discussed, with an emphasis on defining and measuring outcomes and quality in pediatric cardiac critical care medicine and risk stratification systems. DATA SOURCE: MEDLINE and PubMed CONCLUSION: : Measuring quality and outcomes in the pediatric cardiac critical care environment is challenging owing to many inherent obstacles, including a diverse patient mix, difficulty in determining how the care of the ICU team contributes to outcomes, and the lack of an adequate risk-adjustment method for pediatric cardiac critical care patients. Despite these barriers, new solutions are emerging that capitalize on lessons learned from other quality improvement initiatives, providing opportunities to build upon previous successes.

Association of 24/7 In-House Intensive Care Unit Attending Physician Coverage With Outcomes in Children Undergoing Heart Operations.

BACKGROUND: Multicenter data regarding the around-the-clock (24/7) presence of an in-house critical care attending physician with outcomes in children undergoing cardiac operations are limited. METHODS: Patients younger than 18 years of age who underwent operations (with or without cardiopulmonary bypass [CPB]) for congenital heart disease at 1 of the participating intensive care units (ICUs) in the Virtual PICU Systems (VPS, LLC) database were included (2009-2014). The study population was divided into 2 groups: the 24/7 group (14,737 patients; 32 hospitals), and the No 24/7 group (10,422 patients; 22 hospitals). Propensity-score matching was performed to match patients 1:1 in the 24/7 group and in the No 24/7 group. RESULTS: Overall, 25,159 patients from 54 hospitals qualified for inclusion. By propensity matching, 9,072 patients (4,536 patient pairs) from 51 hospitals were matched 1:1 in the 2 groups. After matching, mortality at ICU discharge was lower among the patients treated in hospitals with 24/7 coverage (24/7 versus No 24/7, 2.8% versus 4.0%; p = 0.002). The use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), the incidence of cardiac arrest, extubation within 48 hours after operation, the rate of reintubation, and the duration of arterial line and central venous line use after operation were significantly improved in the 24/7 group. When stratified by surgical complexity, survival benefits of 24/7 coverage persisted among patients undergoing both high-complexity and low-complexity operations. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of 24-hour in-ICU attending physician coverage in children undergoing cardiac operations is associated with improved outcomes, including ICU mortality. It is possible that 24-hour in-ICU attending physician coverage may be a surrogate for other factors that may bias the results. Further study is warranted.

Risk factors and outcomes of in-hospital cardiac arrest following pediatric heart operations of varying complexity.

BACKGROUND: Multi center data regarding cardiac arrest in children undergoing heart operations of varying complexity are limited. METHODS: Children <18 years undergoing heart surgery (with or without cardiopulmonary bypass) in the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS, LLC) Database (2009-2014) were included. Multivariable mixed logistic regression models were adjusted for patient's characteristics, surgical risk category (STS-EACTS Categories 1, 2, and 3 classified as "low" complexity and Categories 4 and 5 classified as "high" complexity), and hospital characteristics. RESULTS: Overall, 26,909 patients (62 centers) were included. Of these, 2.7% had cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery with an associated mortality of 31%. The prevalence of cardiac arrest was lower among patients undergoing low complexity operations (low complexity vs. high complexity: 1.7% vs. 5.9%). Unadjusted outcomes after cardiac arrest were significantly better among patients undergoing low complexity operations (mortality: 21.6% vs. 39.1%, good neurological outcomes: 78.7% vs. 71.6%). In adjusted models, odds of cardiac arrest were significantly lower among patients undergoing low complexity operations (OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.46-0.66). Adjusted models, however, showed no difference in mortality or neurological outcomes after cardiac arrest regardless of surgical complexity. Further, our results suggest that incidence of cardiac arrest and mortality after cardiac arrest are a function of patient characteristics, surgical risk category, and hospital characteristics. Presence of around the clock in-house attending level pediatric intensivist coverage was associated with lower incidence of post-operative cardiac arrest, and presence of a dedicated cardiac ICU was associated with lower mortality after cardiac arrest. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the patients undergoing high complexity operations are a higher risk group with increased prevalence of post-operative cardiac arrest. These data further suggest that patients undergoing high complexity operations can be rescued after cardiac arrest with a high survival rate.

Risk factors for mechanical ventilation and reintubation after pediatric heart surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of and risk factors associated with the need for mechanical ventilation in children following cardiac surgery and the need for subsequent reintubation after the initial extubation attempt. METHODS: Patients younger than 18 years who underwent cardiac operations for congenital heart disease at one of the participating pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) in the Virtual PICU Systems (VPS), LLC, database were included (2009-2014). Multivariable logistic regression models were fitted to identify factors likely associated with mechanical ventilation and reintubation. RESULTS: A total of 27,398 patients from 62 centers were included. Of these, 6810 patients (25%) were extubated in the operating room (OR), whereas 20,588 patients (75%) arrived intubated in the ICU. Of the patients who were extubated in the OR, 395 patients (6%) required reintubation. In contrast, 2054 patients (10%) required reintubation among the patients arriving intubated postoperatively in the ICU. In adjusted models, patient characteristics, patients undergoing high-complexity operations, and patients undergoing operations in lower-volume centers were associated with higher likelihood for the need for postoperative mechanical ventilation and need for reintubation. Furthermore, the prevalence of mechanical ventilation and reintubation was lower among the centers with a dedicated cardiac ICU in propensity-matched analysis among centers with and without a dedicated cardiac ICU. CONCLUSIONS: This multicenter study suggests that proportion of patients extubated in the OR after heart operation is low. These data further suggest that extubation in the OR can be done successfully with a low complication rate.

Pediatric Index of Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Mortality Risk Score for Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care.

OBJECTIVE: Comparison of clinical outcomes is imperative in the evaluation of healthcare quality. Risk adjustment for children undergoing cardiac surgery poses unique challenges, due to its distinct nature. We developed a risk-adjustment tool specifically focused on critical care mortality for the pediatric cardiac surgical population: the Pediatric Index of Cardiac Surgical Intensive care Mortality score. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected pediatric critical care data. SETTING: Pediatric critical care units in the United States. PATIENTS: Pediatric cardiac intensive care surgical patients. INTERVENTIONS: Prospectively collected data from consecutive patients admitted to ICUs were obtained from The Virtual PICU System (VPS, LLC, Los Angeles, CA), a national pediatric critical care database. Thirty-two candidate physiologic, demographic, and diagnostic variables were analyzed for inclusion in the development of the Pediatric Index of Cardiac Surgical Intensive care Mortality model. Multivariate logistic regression with stepwise selection was used to develop the model. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 16,574 cardiac surgical patients from the 55 PICUs across the United States were included in the analysis. Thirteen variables remained in the final model, including the validated Society of Thoracic Surgeons-European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery Congenital Heart Surgery Mortality (STAT) score and admission time with respect to cardiac surgery, which identifies whether the patient underwent the index surgical procedure before or after admission to the ICU. Pediatric Index of Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Mortality (PICSIM) performance was compared with the performance of Pediatric Risk of Mortality-3 and Pediatric Index of Mortality-2 risk of mortality scores, as well as the STAT score and STAT categories by calculating the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic from a validation dataset: PICSIM (area under the curve = 0.87) performed better than Pediatric Index of Mortality-2 (area under the curve = 0.81), Pediatric Risk of Mortality-3 (area under the curve = 0.82), STAT score (area under the curve = 0.77), STAT category (area under the curve = 0.75), and Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 (area under the curve = 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: This newly developed mortality score, PICSIM, consisting of 13 risk variables encompassing physiology, cardiovascular condition, and time of admission to the ICU showed better discrimination than Pediatric Index of Mortality-2, Pediatric Risk of Mortality-3, and STAT score and category for mortality in a multisite cohort of pediatric cardiac surgical patients. The introduction of the variable "admission time with respect to cardiac surgery" allowed prediction of mortality when patients are admitted to the ICU either before or after the index surgical procedure.

Vasoactive-inotropic score is associated with outcome after infant cardiac surgery: an analysis from the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium and Virtual PICU System Registries.

OBJECTIVE: To empirically derive the optimal measure of pharmacologic cardiovascular support in infants undergoing cardiac surgery with bypass and to assess the association between this score and clinical outcomes in a multi-institutional cohort. DESIGN: Prospective, multi-institutional cohort study. SETTING: Cardiac ICUs at four academic children's hospitals participating in the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium during the study period. PATIENTS: Children younger than 1 year at the time of surgery treated postoperatively in the cardiac ICU. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Three hundred ninety-one infants undergoing surgery with bypass were enrolled consecutively from November 2011 to April 2012. Hourly doses of all vasoactive agents were recorded for the first 48 hours after cardiac ICU admission. Multiple derivations of an inotropic score were tested, and maximum vasoactive-inotropic score in the first 24 hours was further analyzed for association with clinical outcomes. The primary composite "poor outcome" variable included at least one of mortality, mechanical circulatory support, cardiac arrest, renal replacement therapy, or neurologic injury. High vasoactive-inotropic score was empirically defined as more than or equal to 20. Multivariable logistic regression was performed controlling for center and patient characteristics. Patients with high vasoactive-inotropic score had significantly greater odds of a poor outcome (odds ratio, 6.5; 95% CI, 2.9-14.6), mortality (odds ratio, 13.2; 95% CI, 3.7-47.6), and prolonged time to first extubation and cardiac ICU length of stay compared with patients with low vasoactive-inotropic score. Stratified analyses by age (neonate vs infant) and surgical complexity (low vs high) showed similar associations with increased morbidity and mortality for patients with high vasoactive-inotropic score. CONCLUSIONS: Maximum vasoactive-inotropic score calculated in the first 24 hours after cardiac ICU admission was strongly and significantly associated with morbidity and mortality in this multi-institutional cohort of infants undergoing cardiac surgery. Maximum vasoactive-inotropic score more than or equal to 20 predicts an increased likelihood of a poor composite clinical outcome. The findings were consistent in stratified analyses by age and surgical complexity.

Relationship between risk-adjustment tools and the pediatric logistic organ dysfunction score.

BACKGROUND: The Risk-Adjusted Classification for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS-1) method and Aristotle Basic Complexity (ABC) scores correlate with mortality. However, low mortality rates in congenital heart disease (CHD) make use of mortality as the primary outcome measure insufficient. Demonstrating correlation between risk-adjustment tools and the Pediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction (PELOD) score might allow for risk-adjusted comparison of an outcome measure other than mortality. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Virtual PICU Systems database. Patients with postoperative CHD between 2009 and 2010 were included. Correlation between RACHS-1 category and PELOD score and between ABC level and PELOD score was examined using Spearman rank correlation. Consistency of PELOD scores across institutions for given levels of case complexity was examined using Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric analysis of variance. RESULTS: A total of 1,981 patient visits among 12 institutions met inclusion criteria. Positive correlations between PELOD score and RACHS-1 category (r s = .353, P < .0001) as well as between PELOD score and ABC level (r s = .328, P < .0001) were demonstrated. Variability in PELOD scores across individual centers for given levels of case complexity was observed (P < .04). CONCLUSIONS: Risk-Adjusted Classification for Congenital Heart Surgery categories and ABC levels correlate with postoperative organ dysfunction as measured by PELOD. However, the correlation was weak, potentially due to limitations of the PELOD score itself. Identification of a more accurate metric of morbidity for the congenital heart disease population is needed.

Creating a standardized process to offer the standard of care: continuous process improvement methodology is associated with increased rates of sperm cryopreservation among adolescent and young adult males with cancer.

BACKGROUND: There is limited literature on strategies to overcome the barriers to sperm banking among adolescent and young adult (AYA) males with cancer. By standardizing our process for offering sperm banking to AYA males before cancer treatment, we aimed to improve rates of sperm banking at our institution. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Continuous process improvement is a technique that has recently been applied to improve health care delivery. We used continuous process improvement methodologies to create a standard process for fertility preservation for AYA males with cancer at our institution. We compared rates of sperm banking before and after standardization. RESULTS: In the 12-month period after implementation of a standardized process, 90% of patients were offered sperm banking. We demonstrated an 8-fold increase in the proportion of AYA males' sperm banking, and a 5-fold increase in the rate of sperm banking at our institution. DISCUSSION: Implementation of a standardized process for sperm banking for AYA males with cancer was associated with increased rates of sperm banking at our institution. This study supports the role of standardized health care in decreasing barriers to sperm banking.

A Comprehensive Intervention Associated With Reduced Surgical Site Infections Among Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery Patients, Including Those With Delayed Closure.

BACKGROUND: Surgical site infections (SSIs) cause significant morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing cardiovascular (CV) surgery. Following an increase in SSIs in this population, driven by a high rate in those with delayed closure, we implemented an intervention to reduce these infections and assessed the intervention using both population- and patient-level analyses. METHODS: An intervention drawing from existing guidelines and targeting preoperative preparation of the patient, prophylactic antibiotics, and postoperative incision care was implemented. Special attention was paid to standardizing the care of the incision of patients with delayed closure. National Healthcare Safety Network criteria were used to prospectively identify SSIs. Population-level intervention effect was assessed using interrupted time series. To assess intervention adherence and effect in our patient population, retrospective chart review was performed on a cohort of patients undergoing cardiac procedures pre- and postintervention. Multivariate analysis was used to assess risk of SSI at the patient level. RESULTS: Timely preoperative prophylactic antibiotic dosing increased from 60% preintervention to 92% postintervention, and redosing during prolonged surgeries increased from 5% to 79% (both, P < .001). At the population-level, a decrease of 6.7 infections per 100 surgeries per 6 months was observed directly following the intervention (P = .002). The SSI rate decreased from 40% to 0.8% (P < .001) in patients with delayed closure and from 4.3% to 1.8% (P = .02) in patients with immediate closure. In multivariate analyses, surgery prior to the intervention was the strongest predictor for SSI (incidence rate ratio, 3.98; 95% confidence interval, 1.59 to 9.97). CONCLUSIONS: Our intervention decreased SSIs in pediatric CV surgery patients, particularly those with delayed closures.