The lived experience of parents of children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit in Lebanon.

BACKGROUND: Family caregivers have a significant responsibility in the care of their child in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). Parents staying with their child in the PICU have particular needs that should be acknowledged and responded to by clinicians. Several studies have been conducted in the USA and Europe to try to understand the experience of family caregivers of children admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. There are no such studies in Lebanon or the Middle East where the culture and support systems differ from other countries. OBJECTIVE: To understand the lived experience of Lebanese parents of children admitted to the PICU in a tertiary hospital in Beirut. DESIGN: Phenomenological study. METHODS: The study followed purposeful sampling in which 10 parents (mother or father) of children admitted to PICU were interviewed. Data were analyzed following the hermeneutical process as described by Diekelmann and Ironside (1998). RESULTS: A constitutive pattern "Journey into the unknown" which constitutes an overarching theme and four major themes with subthemes emerged from the data. These were: We are human beings with dignity "; "looking for a healthier environment"; Dependence on God and "The need to be in the loop" reveal the parents' journey into the unknown. CONCLUSION: This qualitative study adds to the knowledge that would help health care workers understand the experience of Lebanese parents with a child in PICU and to highlight the significance of this experience to them. The findings could be used to inform the development of a PICU parental satisfaction instrument for the sample group.

Novel percutaneous femoral arterial-transthoracic approach for closure of ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm with a septal occluder device in a child.

Ascending aortic pseudoaneurysms are a rare complication following cardiac surgery. Their traditional surgical management carries high morbidity and mortality, especially in patients with multiple comorbidities. Transcatheter closure of these pseudoaneurysms using a septal occluder device has been previously reported in adults as an alternative approach with fewer complications. We report the first case of a novel percutaneous femoral arterial-transthoracic approach for exclusion of an ascending aortic pseudoaneurysm with an Amplatzer atrial septal occluder device in a 9-year-old child with Takayasu's arteritis.

Rupture of sinus of Valsalva aneurysm with aorto-biventricular fistulas and right-ventricular outflow tract obstruction: a unique association.

Sinus of Valsalva aneurysms are a rare entity. Rupture of such aneurysms is a major cause of aortocardiac fistulas usually occurring between the right sinus of Valsalva and right cardiac chambers. We report an exceptional case of a ruptured congenital sinus of Valsalva aneurysm with fistulas involving both the right- and left-ventricular outflow tracts and causing RVOT obstruction. We also demonstrate the utility of computed tomography angiography and transesophageal echocardiography in diagnosing these fistulas.

Management of hypertensive emergencies in children.

Pediatric hypertension is considered a relatively recent disease. Most hypertensive children do not require emergent care and can be managed in an outpatient setting. On the other hand, hypertensive emergencies and urgencies which can be encountered in the outpatient clinics, the inpatient wards or during an emergency visit need prompt recognition and treatment. Efficient management of these children is essential to avoid some of the life-threatening complications associated with hypertension and its treatment. This article will focus on the main pharmacologic agents used in the management of hypertensive emergencies in the pediatric population.

Use of recombinant activated factor VII for intractable bleeding in patients without hemophilia: A developing country tertiary care center's experience.

Although the use of recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) to control intractable bleeding in nonhemophiliac patients is expanding, several issues pertinent to its potential thrombotic complications and effect on patient mortality are still of concern. We herein describe our experience at a developing country tertiary care center over a period of 4 years. A total of 49 patients were identified of whom 28.6% belong to the pediatric age group. The most common bleeding settings were intracerebral hemorrhage, abdominal aortic surgery, general surgery, and disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. All patients achieved cessation or significant reduction in bleeding. Only 1 patient had a documented postuse thrombotic complication. Of the whole group, 12 patients (24.4%) eventually died with only 1 death having a possible association to rFVIIa use. There was a statistically significant reduction in the need for blood product transfusion after the use of rFVIIa. The use of rFVIIa was in accordance with the hospital's algorithm (identifying salvageable patients, preconditioning, blood product replacement, and dosing) in 30 (61.2%) patients. We conclude that rFVIIa should continue to be considered in nonhemophiliac patients failing to respond to conventional measures of bleeding control. However, this off-label use should be coupled with strict adherence to the treatment algorithms, which remains essential in developing countries with limited health care resources.