Intercostal Nerve Cryoablation Reduces Opioid Use and Length of Stay Without Increasing Adverse Events: A Retrospective Cohort Study of 5442 Patients Undergoing Surgical Correction of Pectus Excavatum.

OBJECTIVE: To examine differences in opioid use, length of stay, and adverse events after minimally invasive correction of pectus excavatum (MIRPE) with and without intercostal nerve cryoablation. BACKGROUND: Small studies show that intraoperative intercostal nerve cryoablation provides effective analgesia with no large-scale evaluations of this technique. METHODS: The pediatric health information system database was used to perform a retrospective cohort study comparing patients undergoing MIRPE at children's hospitals before and after the initiation of cryoablation. The association of cryoablation use with inpatient opioid use was determined using quantile regression with robust standard errors. Difference in risk-adjusted length of stay between the cohorts was estimated using negative binomial regression. Odds of adverse events between the two cohorts were compared using logistic regression with a generalized estimating equation. RESULTS: A total of 5442 patients underwent MIRPE at 44 children's hospitals between 2016 and 2022 with 1592 patients treated after cryoablation was introduced at their hospital. Cryoablation use was associated with a median decrease of 80.8 (95% CI: 68.6-93.0) total oral morphine equivalents as well as a decrease in estimated median length of stay from 3.5 [3.2-3.9] days to 2.5 [2.2-2.9] days ( P value: 0.016). Cryoablation use was not significantly associated with an increase in any studied adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of cryoablation for perioperative analgesia was associated with decreased inpatient opioid use and length of stay in a large sample with no change in adverse events. This novel modality for perioperative analgesia offers a promising alternative to traditional pain management in thoracic surgery.

Scoring System to Evaluate Risk of Nonoperative Management Failure in Children With Intussusception.

INTRODUCTION: Typical first-line management of children with intussusception is enema reduction; however, failure necessitates surgical intervention. The number of attempts varies by clinician, and predictors of failed nonoperative management are not routinely considered in practice. The purpose of this study is to create a scoring system that predicts risk of nonoperative failure and need for surgical intervention. METHODS: Children diagnosed with intussusception upon presentation to the emergency department of a tertiary children's hospital between 2019 and 2022 were retrospectively identified. Univariable logistic regression identified predictors of nonoperative failure used as starting covariates for multivariable logistic regression with final model determined by backwards elimination. Regression coefficients for final predictors were used to create the scoring system and optimal cut-points were delineated. RESULTS: We identified 143 instances of ultrasound-documented intussusception of which 28 (19.6%) required operative intervention. Predictors of failed nonoperative management included age ≥4 y (odds ratio [OR] 32.83, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.91-564.23), ≥1 failed enema reduction attempts (OR 189.53, 95% CI: 19.07-1884.11), presenting heart rate ≥128 (OR 3.38, 95% CI: 0.74-15.36), presenting systolic blood pressure ≥115 mmHg (OR 6.59, 95% CI: 0.93-46.66), and trapped fluid between intussuscepted loops on ultrasound (OR 17.54, 95% CI: 0.77-397.51). Employing these factors, a novel risk scoring system was developed (area under the curve 0.96, 95% CI: 0.93-0.99). Scores range from 0 to 8; ≤2 have low (1.1%), 3-4 moderate (50.0%), and ≥5 high (100%) failure risk. CONCLUSIONS: Using known risk factors for enema failure, we produced a risk scoring system with outstanding discriminate ability for children with intussusception necessitating surgical intervention. Prospective validation is warranted prior to clinical integration.

Intercostal nerve cryoablation reduces opioid utilization after thoracotomy in children with cancer.

BACKGROUND: Intercostal nerve cryoablation (INC) has shown promise as an adjunct method for analgesia in adults undergoing thoracotomy, but has yet to be widely used in children for this indication. We hypothesize that INC decreases opioid utilization in children undergoing thoracotomy for cancer operations. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of children who underwent thoracotomy for cancer diagnosis at a freestanding children's hospital from 2018 to 2023. Patient characteristics, intraoperative data, and data on clinical course were collected. Patients were divided into those who underwent INC and those who underwent routine care for comparison. RESULTS: Twenty-six patients underwent 38 procedures at a median age of 16 years (range 5-21 years). INC was performed in 23 cases over a median of five intercostal levels (range 2-7). Total oral morphine equivalents during inpatient admission were significantly lower in INC patients (137.6 vs. 514.5 mg, p = .002). Routine care patients were more likely to be discharged with an opioid prescription (30.4% vs. 80.0%, p = .008). Length of stay was similar between patients with INC and routine care (4 vs. 5 days, p = .15). There were no differences in rates of reoperation or 30-day re-admission (emergency department or inpatient). CONCLUSTIONS: INC is a feasible and safe adjunct for children undergoing thoracotomy for cancer. INC is associated with reduced postoperative opioid utilization with respect to both inpatient use and outpatient prescriptions.

Expedited Surgical Care of Appendicitis is Associated With Improved Resource Utilization.

INTRODUCTION: Appendectomy for acute appendicitis is the most common pediatric intra-abdominal operation. Current literature supports the notion that modest in-hospital, preoperative delays are not associated with greater patient morbidity. However, there is less certainty regarding the role that hour-of-presentation plays in determining the timing of surgery. Thus, we aimed to evaluate how after-hours presentation may relate to the timing of surgery and to assess the outcomes and resource utilization associated with expedited appendectomy compared to nonexpedited. METHODS: Patient records for children who underwent an appendectomy at a freestanding pediatric hospital from 2015 to 2019 were reviewed. Business hour presentations were defined as arrival at the emergency department from 7 AM to 6 PM. Primary outcomes were hospital length of stay (LOS), cost derived from the Pediatric Health Information System database, perforation, surgical complications, and 30-day readmissions. RESULTS: Nine hundred forty-two patients underwent appendectomy over the study period. The median time to OR was 2.0 h in the expedited cohort and 9.8 h in the nonexpedited group. Presentation during business hours was associated with 4.4 higher odds (P < 0.001) of expedited workflow. Expedited appendectomies were associated with shorter hospital LOS (11.5 h, P < 0.001), less costly admissions ($1,155, P < 0.001); LOS measured in midnights, perforation and readmission rates were similar between groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found reduced resource utilization associated with expedited appendectomy. Additionally, the demonstrated association between the time of presentation to the emergency department (ED) and the timing of surgery may be utilized to inform staffing and resource deployment decisions. Further research regarding the generalizability and sustainability of an expedited presurgical workflow in pediatric appendectomy is certainly indicated.

Consumer Wearables Define a Normative Recovery Trajectory Following the Modified Nuss Procedure.

INTRODUCTION: The modified Nuss procedure is an elective procedure associated with a lengthy recovery, uncontrolled pain, and risk of infrequent, yet life-threatening complications. The absence of objective measures of normative postoperative recovery creates uncertainty about the postdischarge period, which remains highly dependent on the patients' and their caregivers' expectations and management of recovery. We aimed to describe an objective-normative, physical activity recovery trajectory after the modified Nuss procedure, using step counts from the Fitbit. METHODS: This observational study enrolled children ≤18 y with pectus excavatum who underwent the modified Nuss procedure from 2021 to 2022. The Fitbit was worn for 21 postoperative days. Postdischarge outcomes and health-care utilization were evaluated. For patients without postoperative complications, piecewise linear regression analysis was conducted to generate a normative recovery trajectory model of daily step counts. RESULTS: Of 80 patients enrolled, 66 (86%) met eligibility criteria (mean age, 15.1 ± 1.3 y; 89.4% male, 62.1% non-Hispanic White). The mean number of telephone and electronic message encounters regarding concerns with the patient's recovery within 30 d postoperatively was 2.1 (standard deviation = 2.7). Ten patients (15.2%) returned to the emergency department (ED) within the 30-d postoperative period. Seven patients (10.6%) presented to the ED one time, and three patients (4.5%) presented to the ED twice. Thirty-day readmission rate was four patients (6.0%). Piecewise regression model showed that patients without complications steadily increased their daily step count on each postoperative day and plateaued on day 18. CONCLUSIONS: We have developed a normative recovery trajectory following the modified Nuss procedure using step count data collected by a consumer wearable device. This offers the potential to inform preoperative patient expectations and reduce avoidable health-care utilization through informed preoperative counseling, thus laying the ground work for the use of consumer wearable devices as a postdischarge remote monitoring tool.

Agminated presentation of fusion-driven melanocytic neoplasms.

BACKGROUND: The conventionally understood pathogenesis of agminated Spitz nevi includes a mosaic HRAS mutation followed by copy number gains in 11p. However, we have recently observed agminated presentations of fusion-driven melanocytic neoplasms. METHODS: We retrieved cases from our database of benign fusion-induced melanocytic neoplasms with an agminated presentation. Both the primary lesion and the secondary lesion were sequenced. TERT-promoter mutational testing and the melanoma fluorescence in situ hybridization assay were also performed. RESULTS: Three cases were included. Two had a PRKCA fusion (partners ATP2B4 and MPZL1) and one had a ZCCHC8::ROS1 fusion. None of the cases met morphologic or molecular criteria for malignancy. There was no evidence of tumor progression in secondary lesions. The same fusion was identified in the primary and secondary lesions. None of the patients developed evidence of nodal or systemic metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: We present accumulating evidence that fusion-driven melanocytic neoplasms can present with an agminated presentation. The differential diagnosis of an agminated presentation versus a locally recurrent or potentially locally metastatic tumor is critical, and accurate diagnosis has significant prognostic and therapeutic consequences for the patient. As with HRAS mutations, fusion-driven melanocytic tumors may have an agminated presentation.

Prolonged In-hospital Time to Appendectomy is Associated With Increased Complicated Appendicitis in Children.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between prolonged in-hospital time to appendectomy (TTA) and the risk of complicated appendicitis. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Historically, acute appendicitis was treated with emergency appendectomy. More recently, practice patterns have shifted to urgent appendectomy, with acceptable in-hospital delays of up to 24 hours. However, the consequences of prolonged TTA remain poorly understood. Herein, we present the largest individual analysis to date of outcomes associated with prolonged in-hospital delay before appendectomy in children. METHODS: Data from patients who underwent appendectomy within 24 hours of hospital presentation were obtained from the American College of Surgeons Pediatric National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Procedure Targeted Appendectomy database from 2016 to 2018. Appendectomy within 16 hours of presentation was considered early, whereas those between 16 to 24 hours were defined as late. The primary outcome was operative findings of complicated appendicitis. Secondary outcomes included 30-day complications and resource utilization. RESULTS: This study consisted of 18,927 patients, with 20.6% undergoing late appendectomy. The rate of complicated appendicitis was significantly higher in the late group (Early: 26.3%, Late: 30.3%, P < 0.05). Additionally, the late group had longer operative times, increased need for postoperative percutaneous drainage, antibiotics at discharge, parenteral nutrition, and an extended hospital length of stay (P < 0.05). On multivariate analysis, late appendectomy remained a predictor of complicated disease (odds ratio 1.17 [95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.27]). CONCLUSIONS: A significant proportion of pediatric patients with acute appendicitis experience prolonged in-hospital delays before appendectomy, which are associated with modestly increased rates of complicated appendicitis. Although this does not indicate appendectomy needs to be done emergently, prolonged in-hospital TTA should be avoided whenever possible.

Association of Operative Volume and Odds of Surgical Complication for Patients Undergoing Repair of Pectus Excavatum at Children's Hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether procedure-specific provider volume is associated with outcomes for patients undergoing repair of pectus excavatum at tertiary care children's hospitals. STUDY DESIGN: We performed a cohort study of patients undergoing repair of pectus excavatum between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2019, at children's hospitals using the Pediatric Health Information System database. The main exposures were the pectus excavatum repair volume quartile of the patient's hospital and the pectus excavatum repair volume category of their surgeon. Our primary outcome was surgical complication, identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification codes from Pediatric Health Information System. Secondary outcomes included high-cost admission and extended length of stay. RESULTS: In total, 7183 patients with an average age of 15.2 years (SD 2.0), 83% male, 74% non-Hispanic White, 68% no comorbidities, 72% private insurance, and 82% from metro areas were analyzed. Compared with the lowest-volume (≤10 cases/year) quartile of hospitals, patients undergoing repair of pectus excavatum at hospitals in the second (>10-18 cases/year), third (>18-26 cases/year), and fourth (>26 cases/year) volume quartiles had decreased odds of complication of OR 0.52 (CI 0.34-0.82), 0.51 (CI 0.33-0.78), and 0.41 (CI 0.27-0.62), respectively. Patients with pectus excavatum who underwent repair by surgeons in the second (>1-5 cases/year), third (>5-10 cases/year), and fourth (>10 cases/year) volume categories had decreased odds of complication of OR 0.91 (CI 0.68-1.20), OR 0.73 (CI 0.51-1.04), and OR 0.55 (CI 0.39-0.76), respectively, compared with the lowest-volume (≤1 case/year) category of surgeons. CONCLUSIONS: Procedure-specific case volume is an important factor when considering providers for elective surgery, even among specialized centers providing comprehensive patient care.

Novel Quality Improvement Targets to Address Healthcare Encounters After Pediatric Appendectomy.

INTRODUCTION: Pediatric appendicitis clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) do not typically address postdischarge healthcare encounters. This study aims to examine common indications for returns to the health system to identify novel quality improvement targets. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study analyzed patients aged 3 to 18 y undergoing appendectomy at a single institution from July 1, 2019, to July 31, 2020. The primary outcome was physical postdischarge encounters comprising emergency department (ED) visits and hospital readmissions. Indications for each encounter were categorized and stratified by appendicitis type (i.e., simple, gangrenous, or perforated). Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate association between appendicitis category and postdischarge encounters. RESULTS: Of 434 patients, 240 (55.3%) had simple appendicitis, 77 (17.7%) gangrenous, and 117 (29.9%) perforated appendicitis. Overall, 48 patients had at least one instance of an unplanned postdischarge encounter with a total of 56 unplanned ED presentations and 24 readmissions. Perforated patients were significantly more likely to experience postdischarge ED (odds ratio 2.55; 95% confidence interval 1.29-5.02) and readmission encounters (odds ratio 6.63; 95% confidence interval 2.28-19.28). Common indications for ED encounters included abdominal pain (n = 20) with 25.0% readmitted, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., diarrhea, vomiting, distention) (n = 16) with 87.5% readmitted, and incision concerns (n = 6) with 16.7% readmitted. Common indications for readmissions included intraabdominal abscesses (n = 8) and small bowel obstruction (n = 4). CONCLUSIONS: Assessing indications for postdischarge healthcare encounters enables identification of novel quality improvement targets, including proactively addressing incision concerns and abdominal pain.

Weight gain and resource utilization in infants after fundoplication versus gastrojejunostomy.

PURPOSE: There is wide practice variation in the use of laparoscopic fundoplication (LF) versus gastrojejunostomy (GJ) tube insertion for children who do not tolerate gastric feeds. Using weight gain as an objective proxy of adequate nutrition, we sought to evaluate the difference in weight gain between LF and GJ. METHODS: A retrospective, cohort study was conducted of patients ≤ 2 years who underwent LF or GJ between 2014 and 2019 at a single institution. Patient characteristics, change in weight 1-year post-procedure and frequency of unplanned healthcare utilization encounters were collected and examined. RESULTS: A total of 125 patients (50.4%LF, 49.6%GJ) were identified. Adjusted modeling demonstrated that on average, there was an additional 0.85-unit increase in weight-for-age Z scores in the LF compared to the GJ cohort (p = 0.01). The GJ cohort had significantly more unplanned healthcare utilization encounters (4.2, SD 3.4) compared to LF (3.0, SD 3.1) (p = 0.03). Furthermore, the GJ cohort underwent an average of 3.3 planned GJ exchanges within 1-year post-procedure. CONCLUSION: In the first year post-operatively, LF is associated with increased weight gain and fewer unplanned and overall healthcare encounters compared to GJ. Long-term outcomes including weight gain and quality-of-life measures should be studied to develop standardized guidelines for this common clinical scenario.

A Retrospective Cohort Study of Optimal Contrast for Successful Intussusception Reduction: Institutional Practices Matter.

BACKGROUND: The first-line treatment for intussusception is radiologic reduction with either air-contrast enema (AE) or liquid-contrast enema (LE). The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between self-reported institutional AE or LE intussusception reduction preferences and rates of operative intervention and bowel resection. METHODS: Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) hospitals were contacted to assess institutional enema practices for intussusception. A retrospective study using 2009-2018 PHIS data was conducted for patients aged 0-5 y to evaluate outcomes. Chi-squared tests were used to test for differences in the distribution of surgical patients by hospital management approach. RESULTS: Of the 45 hospitals, 20 (44%) exclusively used AE, 4 (9%) exclusively used LE, and 21 (46%) used a mixed practice. Of 24,688 patients identified from PHIS, 13,231 (54%) were at exclusive AE/LE hospitals and 11,457 (46%) were at mixed practice hospitals. Patients at AE/LE hospitals underwent operative procedures at lower rates than at mixed practice hospitals (14.8% versus 16.5%, P< 0.001) and were more likely to undergo bowel resection (31.1% versus 27.1%, P= 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Practice variation exists in hospital-level approaches to radiologic reduction of intussusception and mixed practices may impact outcomes.

Trends in gastrostomy tube placement with concomitant Nissen fundoplication for infants and young children at Pediatric Tertiary Centers.

PURPOSE: In infants and toddlers, gastrostomy tube placement (GT) is typically accompanied by consideration of concomitant Nissen fundoplication (NF). Historically, rates of NF have varied across providers and institutions. This study examines practice variation and longitudinal trends in NF at pediatric tertiary centers. METHODS: Patients ≤ 2 years who underwent GT between 2008 and 2018 were identified in the Pediatric Health Information System database. Patient demographics and rates of NF were examined. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the variation in the proportion of GT with NF at each hospital, by volume and over time. RESULTS: 40,348 patients were identified across 40 hospitals. Most patients were male (53.8%), non-Hispanic white (49.5%) and publicly-insured (60.4%). Rates of NF by hospital varied significantly from 4.2 to 75.2% (p < 0.001), though were not associated with geographic region (p = 0.088). Rates of NF decreased from 42.8% in 2008 to 14.2% in 2018, with a mean annual rate of change of - 3.07% (95% CI - 3.53, - 2.61). This trend remained when stratifying hospitals into volume quartiles. CONCLUSION: There is significant practice variation in performing NF. Regardless of volume, the rate of NF is also decreasing. Objective NF outcome measurements are needed to standardize the management of long-term enteral access in this population.

Immunosuppression and the risk of readmission and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing hip fracture, abdominopelvic and cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVES: The impact of immunosuppression on postoperative outcomes has primarily been studied in patients undergoing joint replacement surgery. We aimed to evaluate the impact of biologics and glucocorticoids on outcomes after other major surgeries. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study used Medicare data 2006-2015 to identified adults with rheumatoid arthritis undergoing hip fracture repair, abdominopelvic surgery (cholecystectomy, hysterectomy, hernia, appendectomy, colectomy) or cardiac surgery (coronary artery bypass graft, mitral/aortic valve). Logistic regression with propensity-score-based inverse probability weighting compared 90-day mortality and 30-day readmission in patients receiving methotrexate (without a biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (tsDMARD)), a tumour necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) or a non-TNFi biologic/tsDMARD <8 weeks before surgery. Similar analyses evaluated associations between glucocorticoids and outcomes. RESULTS: We identified 10 777 eligible surgeries: 3585 hip fracture, 5025 abdominopelvic and 2167 cardiac surgeries. Compared with patients receiving methotrexate, there was no increase in the risk of 90-day mortality or 30-day readmission among patients receiving a TNFi (mortality adjusted OR (aOR) 0.83 (0.67 to 1.02), readmission aOR 0.86 (0.75 to 0.993)) or non-TNFi biologic/tsDMARD (mortality aOR 0.78 (0.49 to 1.22), readmission aOR 1.02 (0.78 to 1.33)). Analyses stratified by surgery category were similar. Risk of mortality and readmission was higher with 5-10 mg/day of glucocorticoids (mortality aOR 1.41 (1.08 to 1.82), readmission aOR 1.26 (1.05 to 1.52)) or >10 mg/day (mortality aOR 1.64 (1.02 to 2.64), readmission aOR 1.60 (1.15 to 2.24)) versus no glucocorticoids, although results varied when stratifying by surgery category. CONCLUSIONS: Recent biologic or tsDMARD use was not associated with a greater risk of mortality or readmission after hip fracture, abdominopelvic or cardiac surgery compared with methotrexate. Higher dose glucocorticoids were associated with greater risk.

Transfusions in Children's Surgery: Characterization and Development of a Model for Benchmarking.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative blood transfusions in children are associated with patient morbidity and are often overutilized. In this study, we identify procedures most commonly associated with the use of red blood cells (RBC) in childrens surgery and develop risk-adjusted models for benchmarking. METHODS: Data from the 2012-2015 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program-Pediatric participant use data files were used. CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) codes were grouped to identify the procedures where transfusions were allocated and associated patient demographics and comorbidities. Patients were stratified in two age groups (0-3 mo and 3 mo to 18 y), and a logistic regression model was developed for each age group. RESULTS: Of 369,176 total cases, 21,410 (5.8%) were associated with a perioperative transfusion. 659 CPT codes were grouped in 207 clusters according to their similarities. The most common procedures associated with transfusion were arthrodesis for spinal deformity (n = 9533, 44.5%), followed by craniectomy for craniosynostosis (n = 1853, 8.7%). The logistic regression model for patients <3 mo included 18 variables and had excellent discriminatory performance (area under the curve 0.866). The model for patients ≥3 mo to 18 y had 21 variables and an area under the curve of 0.911. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of transfusions used in children's surgery are concentrated within a relatively few procedural groups. These findings can help centers in focusing blood optimization efforts on common surgeries with high transfusion rates. In addition, multiple preoperative factors have been built into a risk-adjusted model that can be used for benchmarking blood transfusions among hospitals.

Conversion From Venovenous to Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Is Associated With Increased Mortality in Children.

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing national trend toward initial venovenous (VV) extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for infants and children with respiratory disease; however, some proportion of patients initiated on VV ECMO will ultimately require conversion to venoarterial (VA) support for circulatory augmentation. The purpose of this work is to describe patients who required conversion from VV to VA ECMO and to highlight the increased mortality in this population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Demographic and disease-specific data on children who underwent VV-to-VA ECMO conversion were extracted from the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry. Survival comparisons to age-matched patients undergoing unconverted ECMO runs were made using the 2016 Extracorporeal Life Support Organization International Summary report. The relative risk (RR) of death associated with VV-to-VA conversion was calculated, and statistical analysis of survival was performed using a chi-squared test with P < 0.05 for significance. RESULTS: This study cohort consisted of 1382 patients who required VV-to-VA conversion. The overall hospital survival rate for neonates requiring conversion was 60%, compared with 83% for unconverted VV runs and 64% for unconverted VA runs (RR 1.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-1.34). Similarly, the survival of older children requiring conversion was 46% compared with 66% and 51%, respectively (RR 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.27). CONCLUSIONS: VV-to-VA conversion does occur and is associated with increased mortality. The need for conversion from VV to VA ECMO may represent an early failure to recognize physiologic parameters or disease severity that would be better managed with initial VA support. Further research is needed to pinpoint the cause of increased mortality and to identify predictors of VV failure to optimize initial mode selection.

Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Neonatal Bowel: Novel, Bedside, Noninvasive, and Radiation-Free Imaging for Early Detection of Necrotizing Enterocolitis.

Despite extensive research and improvements in the field of neonatal care, the morbidity and mortality associated with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) have remained unchanged over the past three decades. Early detection of ischemia and necrotic bowel is vital in improving morbidity and mortality associated with NEC; however, strategies for predicting and preventing NEC are lacking. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) are novel techniques in pediatrics that have been proven as safe modalities. CEUS has benefits over conventional ultrasound (US) by its improved real-time evaluation of the micro- and macrovascularities of normally and abnormally perfused tissue. US has been implemented as a useful adjunct to X-ray for earlier evaluation of NEC. NIRS is another noninvasive technique that has shown promise in improving early detection of NEC. The purpose of this article is to review the current understanding of changes in bowel perfusion in NEC, discuss the accuracy of abdominal US in detecting NEC, and explain how the use of CEUS and NIRS will enhance the precise and early detection of altered/pathological bowel wall perfusion in the initial development and course of NEC.

Pediatric choledochal cysts: diagnosis and current management.

Choledochal cysts are rare congenital disorders first described by Vater and Ezler in 1723. Their exact etiology remains incompletely understood; however, an anomalous pancreaticobiliary union (APBDU) and subsequent reflux of biliary contents into the biliary tree are thought to play a role. Accordingly, APBDU-associated choledochal cyst patients are significantly more likely to have evidence of hepatitis, cholangitis or pancreatitis and pathologically confirmed inflammation. In 1977, Todani and colleagues modified the original Alonso-Lej classification to include five types of CC. Type I and IV are the most common and most likely to be associated with malignancy. The majority of choledochal cysts are diagnosed in childhood. Clinical presentation varies and most often consists of nonspecific abdominal pain. Diagnosis is typically accomplished using multimodality imaging techniques including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasound and MRCP. The use of diagnostic PTC and ERCP in CC has been largely replaced by MRCP. Appropriate management consists of prompt, complete cyst excision followed by restoration of biliary enteric continuity when necessary. Minimally invasive CC resection in the pediatric population has demonstrated acceptable outcomes. Prognosis is generally excellent; however, malignancy risk remains higher than the general population even after complete surgical excision.

The impact of surgical strategies on outcomes for pediatric chronic pancreatitis.

PURPOSE: To review our institutional experience in the surgical treatment of pediatric chronic pancreatitis (CP) and evaluate predictors of long-term pain relief. METHODS: Outcomes of patients ≤21 years surgically treated for CP in a single institution from 1995 to 2014 were evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty patients underwent surgery for CP at a median of 16.6 years (IQR 10.7-20.6 years). The most common etiology was pancreas divisum (n = 7; 35%). Therapeutic endoscopy was the first-line treatment in 17 cases (85%). Surgical procedures included: longitudinal pancreaticojejunostomy (n = 4, 20%), pancreatectomy (n = 9, 45%), total pancreatectomy with islet autotransplantation (n = 2; 10%), sphincteroplasty (n = 2, 10%) and pseudocyst drainage (n = 3, 15%). At a median follow-up of 5.3 years (IQR 4.2-5.3), twelve patients (63.2%) were pain free and five (26.3%) were insulin dependent. In univariate analysis, previous surgical procedure or >5 endoscopic treatments were associated with a lower likelihood of pain relief (OR 0.06; 95% CI 0.006-0.57; OR 0.07; 95%, CI 0.01-0.89). However, these associations were not present in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: In children with CP, the step-up practice including a limited trial of endoscopic interventions followed by surgery tailored to anatomical abnormalities and gene mutation status is effective in ensuring long-term pain relief and preserving pancreatic function.