Nicardipine Is a Safe, Efficacious, and Cost-Effective Antihypertensive for Neonates and Young Infants Undergoing Cardiac Surgery.

OBJECTIVE: The use of nicardipine in congenital cardiac surgery has been guarded given the calcium sensitivity of immature myocardium and paucity of clinical data. Reports of nicardipine use have excluded neonates with single ventricles. The goal of this study was to compare the use of nicardipine and sodium nitroprusside for postoperative blood pressure control in young patients recovering from cardiac surgery. METHODS: All neonates (<30 days) and young infants (31-180 days) who received either sodium nitroprusside or nicardipine as first-line therapy for blood pressure control were retrospectively reviewed. Some patients had multiple index operations and each index operation was counted separately regarding treatment with sodium nitroprusside or nicardipine. RESULTS: A total of 59 patients underwent 70 procedures (24 as neonates and 46 as infants). Nicardipine was administered as initial therapy following 33 procedures (n = 28 patients), and sodium nitroprusside was administered as initial therapy following 37 index procedures (n = 31 patients). The duration of treatment was longer (P = .025) when sodium nitroprusside was the initial treatment. Five (15%) patients that received nicardipine required a second blood pressure management agent, and seven (19%) patients that received sodium nitroprusside required a second agent (P = .66). No adverse events related to titratable antihypertensive therapy were recorded in any treatment group. The use of nicardipine resulted in significant medication cost reduction. Based on average wholesale price, patient costs for sodium nitroprusside use were $182,952 ($5,544/pt), while costs for nicardipine were only $24,960 ($780/pt). CONCLUSIONS: Nicardipine can be safely used as a first-line antihypertensive in infants. The use of nicardipine as initial antihypertensive therapy rather than sodium nitroprusside can lead to a significant reduction in medication costs without jeopardizing clinical outcomes.

Technical Performance Score Predicts Perioperative Outcomes in Complex Congenital Heart Surgery Performed in a Small-to-Medium-Volume Program.

As the quality of surgical outcomes depend on many factors, the development of validated tools to assess the different aspects of complex multidisciplinary teams' performance is crucial. The Technical Performance Score (TPS) has only been validated to correlate with outcomes in large-volume surgical programs. Here we assess the utility of TPS in correlation to perioperative outcomes for complex congenital heart surgeries (CHS) performed in a small-to-medium-volume program. 673 patients underwent CHS from 4/2012 to 12/2017 at our institution. Of those, 122 were STAT 4 and STAT 5. TPS was determined for each STAT 4 and STAT 5 operation using discharge echocardiogram: 1 = optimal, 2 = adequate, 3 = inadequate. Patient outcomes were compared including mortality, length of stay, ventilation times, and adverse events. 69 patients (57%) were neonates, 32 (26%) were infants, 17 (14%) were children, 4 (3%) were adults. TPS class 1 was assigned to 85 (70%) operations, TPS class 2 was assigned to 25 (20%) operations, and TPS class 3 was assigned to 12 (10%) operations. TPS was associated with re-intubation, ICU length of stay, postoperative length of stay, and mortality. TPS did not correlate with unplanned 30-day readmissions, need for reoperation, and inotropic score. Technical performance score was associated with perioperative outcomes and is a useful tool to assess the adequacy of repair for high complexity CHS in a small-to-medium-volume surgical program. TPS should be a part of program review in congenital heart programs of all sizes to identify strategies that may reduce postoperative morbidity and potentially improve long-term outcomes.