Incidence and outcome of acute kidney injury by the pRIFLE criteria for children receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation after heart surgery.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is common in patients treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). The RIFLE criteria demonstrate clinical relevance for diagnosing AKI and classifying its severity. OBJECTIVES: To systematically define the incidence, clinical course and outcome of AKI using the pediatric pRIFLE criteria. DESIGN: Retrospective, medical records review. SETTINGS: Pediatric cardiac surgical intensive care units at a tertiary care hospital in Riyadh. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed the records of all pediatric patients that underwent cardiac surgery and required ECMO postoperatively between 1 January 2011 and 1 January 2016. AKI was classified according to the pRIFLE criteria 48 hours after ECMO initiation. Demographics and concomitant therapies for all patients were collected. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Outcome was assessed by recovery from AKI at time of discharge, ICU stay and mortality. RESULTS: Fifty-nine patients needed ECMO after cardiac surgery during the study period. Their mean (SD) age and weight was 11.0 (16.5) month and 5.5 (3.6) kg, respectively. All patients had a central venoarterial ECMO inserted. Fifty-three patients (90%) developed AKI after ECMO initiation. The majority of patients (57%) were categorized as pRIFLE-Failure, having a higher mortality rate (28/34 patients, 82%) in comparison to the pRIFLE-Injury and pRIFLE-Risk groups. Twenty-nine patients (49%) required either peritoneal dialysis (PD), or renal replacement therapy (RRT) or both. For AKI vs non-AKI patients, there was a statistically significant difference between mean (SD) ECMO duration (9.0 [8.00] vs 6.0 [2.0] days; P=.02) and ICU stay (37.0 [41.0] vs 21.0 [5.0] days; P=.03), respectively. The overall mortality rate was 58%, with a significant difference (P=.03) between AKI and non-AKI groups. All the patients who survived had normal creatinine clearance at hospital discharge. CONCLUSION: There is a high incidence of AKI in pediatric patients requiring ECMO after cardiac surgery, and it is associated with higher mortality, increased ECMO duration, and increased ventilator days. LIMITATIONS: Single-center retrospective analysis and the small sample size limited the precision of our estimates in sub-populations.

The short- and long-term effect of Blalock-Taussig shunt size on the outcome after first palliative surgery for cyanotic heart diseases.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The Blalock-Taussig (BT) shunt is regarded a safe and effective means increasing pulmonary blood flow for cyanotic heart conditions. The evaluation of shunt size for postoperative hemodynamics and until second-stage palliation remains difficult. Our objective is to compare the effect of different shunt sizes on short- and long-term outcomes after a BT shunt surgery. DESIGN AND SETTINGS: This is a retrospective review in a tertiary care hospital. PATIENTS: The records of all patients with a modified BT shunt between January 2007 and January 2010 were reviewed. METHODS: Patients were divided into 2 groups: Group A with a BT shunt of 3.5 mm and Group B with a BT shunt of 4 mm, and their body weight was less than 4 kg. Groups were compared for the short-term outcome, which includes: intensive care unit course, intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital stay, mortality during the same admission, and the size of branch pulmonary arteries (PAs) before second surgery. RESULTS: A total of 29 (42%) patients were in Group A and 40 (58%) in Group B. There was no significant difference in the mean weight between both groups; P value .06. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in regard to diastolic blood pressure and lactate levels by the end of the first 48 hours after surgery. Group A required longer duration of inotropes and more days of ventilation with P value .03 and .001, respectively. The mean (standard deviation) ICU and hospital stay were 10.0 (8.9) days and 17.0 (11.4) days, respectively, for Group A and 12 (8.9) days and 15 (12.9) days, respectively, for Group B with P value .7 and P value .6, respectively. Yet Group B had a better branch PA size and required lesser intervention for branch PAs in comparison to Group A. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that a smaller shunt size may have a trend toward higher morbidity. A bigger shunt size does not necessarily lead to stealing phenomena and its consequences, and can be performed with a low risk leading to a better growth of branch PAs.