Construction of Femoral Vessel Nomograms for Planning Cardiac Interventional Procedures in Children 0-4 Years Old.

The objectives of this study were to construct femoral artery (FA) and femoral vein (FV) nomograms in children aged 0-4 years and to construct probability curves for the occurrence of arterial access complications based on the size of the FA. The FV and FA are commonly accessed during cardiac catheterizations in children with congenital heart diseases (CHD). However, nomograms for vessel dimensions based on child's age or size are not available. This knowledge may be helpful for interventional planning. A prospective study was performed on 400 children (age 0-4 years) with CHD undergoing cardiac catheterizations over a 3-year period. Ultrasound evaluation of the right and left FA and FV was performed under anesthesia prior to vascular access. Regression modeling was applied to derive nomograms based on quantile polynomial regression, which yielded good fit to the data judged by R-squared. GAMLSS transformation method was used to formulate smoothed percentiles. A separate prospective evaluation of FA to determine the size below which loss of pulse (LOP) are likely to occur was performed. Nomograms for FA and FV diameter and cross-sectional area against age and body surface area and probability curves for FA LOP were constructed. It is now possible to examine ultrasound-based normal sizes of femoral vein and artery in children 0-4 years of age. Femoral vessel nomograms and LOP probability curves may help with interventional planning. Future studies with larger sample size, including children of other ages may be useful.

Clinical evaluation of a radio-protective cream for the hands of the pediatric interventional cardiologist.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of UltraBLOX™ radiation attenuating hand cream during lengthy cardiac catheterization procedures in children. BACKGROUND: The hands of interventional cardiologists receive high doses of radiation due to their proximity to the X-ray beam. Radiation attenuating gloves have about a 26% attenuation rate, but reduce dexterity and tactile sensation. The UltraBLOX™ cream is a new FDA-approved X-ray attenuating cream that can be applied to the operator's hands for radio-protection. METHODS: Two nanoDot™ dosimeters were secured side by side on the dorsum of the operator's (n = 2) left hand close to the wrist. One dosimeter and the rest of the hand were covered with 0.2 mm layer of the cream. The other dosimeter was unshielded. Procedures were performed using 110 kVp fluoroscopy at 15 pulses/sec. The measurements were categorized into four groups dependent on the duration of the procedure. The patients in all four groups were well matched for age and size. RESULTS: Procedural and cumulative hand radiation doses were higher with longer procedural duration. The overall % attenuation by the cream was 39.7% (28.6-51.5) and was unaffected by the length of the procedure (median: 40.9% at 30 min and 41.4% at 180 min; P = 0.66) or the dose of radiation. The kappa statistic for interobserver agreement for good tactile sensitivity was 0.82. CONCLUSIONS: UltraBLOX™ cream provides a new option for radio-protection for the hands of interventional cardiologists without impairing tactile sensitivity. There was no decrease in attenuation up to 180 min. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.