Management and Outcomes of Neonatal Arteriovenous Brain Malformations with Cardiac Failure: A 17 Years' Experience in a Tertiary Referral Center.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the management and outcomes of neonatal arteriovenous brain malformations (mostly vein of Galen malformations) complicated by cardiac failure in the era of prenatal diagnosis and endovascular treatment in a tertiary referral center. STUDY DESIGN: This observational study included 77 living newborn infants with arteriovenous brain malformations with cardiac failure, admitted to our referral center from 2001 to 2017. All infants underwent cardiovascular evaluation including echocardiogram and brain magnetic resonance imaging. Long-term survivors had standard neurocognitive assessments. RESULTS: Infants were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit at a median of 5 days of age (including 18 inborn patients since 2009). Sixty transarterial shunt embolizations were performed in 46 patients during their first month (at a median age of 7.5 days) or postponed beyond the first month in another 10 long-term survivors. Embolization was not performed in 21 infants, including 19 nonsurvivors with severe brain injury, uncontrolled cardiac failure, or multiple organ failure. Cardiac failure requiring vasopressor infusion occurred in 48 patients (64%) during the hospitalization. Infants who survived the first month underwent a median of 3 embolization sessions. Among the 51 survivors, 21 had a good outcome and 19 had a poor outcome at follow-up (median age, 5.3 years); 11 children were lost to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: In the era of multidisciplinary prenatal diagnosis, using a standardized care protocol, 47% of liveborn infants with an arteriovenous shunt malformation with cardiac failure experienced a favorable outcome.

Bacterial infections in children after liver transplantation: A single-center surveillance study of 345 consecutive transplantations.

BACKGROUND: Infectious complications after pediatric liver transplantation frequently occur and are potentially serious. Data concerning strictly defined bacterial infections and their associated risk factors are lacking. METHODS: For the pediatric liver transplant postoperative period, we analyzed data from the nosocomial infection surveillance (2006-2015). RESULTS: A total of 235 bacterial infections in 162 transplantations (47%) occurred, including 32 bacterial pneumonia cases, 104 surgical site infections, 27 urinary tract infections, and 40 bloodstream infections. Sepsis was diagnosed in 127 cases (54%), severe sepsis in 22 (9%) cases, and septic shock in 41 (17%) cases. Thirty patients (9%) died, and septic shock was the leading cause of death. The carrier status of multi-drug resistant bacteria and a tacrolimus level >20 ng/mL were independent risk factors for surgical site infections and the occurrence of severe sepsis or septic shock. The length of mechanical ventilation was an independent risk factor for pneumonia and surgical site infection. CONCLUSION: Bacterial infections in the early postoperative period after pediatric liver transplantation are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Physicians involved in the medical care of these patients should be aware of the specific risk factors, and further development of prevention programs is highly recommended.

Ultrasound-Guided Subclavian Vein Cannulation in Low Birth Weight Neonates.

OBJECTIVES: Central venous access in critically ill, small infants remains technically challenging even in experienced hands. Several vascular accesses exist, but the subclavian vein is often preferred for central venous catheter insertion in infants where abdominal malformation and/or closure of the vein preclude the use of umbilical venous catheters, as catheterization of the subclavian vein is easier in very short necks than the internal jugular vein for age-related anatomical reasons. The subclavian vein approach is yet relatively undescribed in low birth weight infants (i.e., < 2,500 g), and this study aims to explore the feasibility of this technique in very small infants. DESIGN: Retrospective data collection of prospectively registered data on central venous catheter insertion in infants. SETTING: Neonatal ICU and PICU at a university hospital. PATIENTS: One hundred and five newborn children hospitalized in at the ICU. INTERVENTIONS: An ultrasound-guided supraclavicular approach was applied on all infants who had an subclavian vein catheterization during a 30-month period from January 2013 to July 2015. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: One hundred seven supraclavicular subclavian vein catheters were placed in 105 children weighing less than 5,000 g. Among those, 40 patients weighed less than 2,500 g and 10 patients weighed less than 1,500 g. Successful central venous catheter insertion, defined as the correct placement of a functional double-lumen catheter (3F or 4F), was obtained in 97.3%. All three registered failed attempts were due to hematomas from venous bleeding and occurred in infants weighing greater than 2,500 g. No case of accidental arterial puncture or pleural puncture was registered. CONCLUSIONS: This large series of subclavian vein catheterizations in small infants demonstrates the feasibility of subclavian vein catheterizations even in very small neonates weighing less than 1,500 g.

Ultrasound guided percutaneous catheterization of the brachiocephalic vein by small caliber catheter: An alternative to epicutaneo-caval catheter in newborn and premature infants.

BACKGROUND: Umbilical Venous Catheter (UVC) and Epicutaneo-Caval Catheters (ECC) are reference catheters in the neonatal period. However, many factors such as the corpulence of neonates, poor venous capital, and anatomical variants can complicate ECC insertion or make it impossible. In newborns with failed ECC insertion, we developed an hybrid technique that combines the insertion of a long-lasting silicone or polyurethane small caliber catheter, usually used as a ECC in newborns, with the ease and speed of ultrasound guided puncture of the brachiocephalic vein (BCV). METHODS: Three years retrospective single center experience of ultrasound guided BCV insertion of silicon or polyurethane small caliber central catheter in a tertiary neonatal intensive care in case of insertion fail of ECC. RESULTS: Twenty-one echo guided BCV-ECC insertions were performed in 20 newborns. Median age was 16 days (range: 0-110 days), median weight was 1700 g (range: 605-4960 g) at insertion. In most cases, insertion was on the left side (17/21). No failures were noted. Only one attempt was necessary in all cases. Insertion time, when noted, was always of <45 min. The median duration of use of these catheters was 11 days (range 3-35 days). No complication was noted during insertion or catheter use, including catheter-related infections and thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Echo guided percutaneous catheterization of the brachiocephalic vein with a long lasting silicone or polyurethane small caliber catheter is a safe alternative to the ECC if insertion has failed. However, it requires a mastery of ultrasound-guided insertion technique in term and premature neonates.

Transcranial Doppler Use in Non-traumatic Critically Ill Children: A Multicentre Descriptive Study.

Background: The use and perceived value of transcranial Doppler (TCD) scope in paediatric critical care medicine has not been extensively documented. Objective: To describe the use of TCD to assess non-traumatic brain injury in patients admitted to four paediatric intensive care units (PICUs) in France. Methods: We prospectively included all children (aged under 18) assessed with inpatient TCD between November 2014 and October 2015 at one of the four PICUs. The physicians completed a questionnaire within 4 h of performing TCD. Results: 152 children were included. The primary diagnosis was neurological disease in 106 patients (70%), including post ischemic-anoxic brain insult (n = 42, 28%), status epilepticus (n = 19, 13%), and central nervous system infection/inflammation (n = 15, 10%). TCD was the first-line neuromonitoring assessment in 110 patients (72%) and was performed within 24 h of admission in 112 patients (74%). The most common indications for TCD were the routine monitoring of neurological disorders (n = 85, 56%) and the detection of asymptomatic neurological disorders (n = 37, 24). Concordance between the operator's interpretation of TCD and the published normative values was observed for 21 of the 75 (28%) TCD abnormal findings according to the published normative values. The physicians considered that TCD was of value for the ongoing clinical management of 131 (86%) of the 152 patients. Conclusion: TCD is commonly used in French PICUs and tends to be performed early after admission on patients with a broad range of diseases. The physicians reported that the TCD findings often helped their clinical decision making. In view of the subjectivity of bedside interpretation, true TCD contribution to clinical care remains to be determined. Objective studies of the impact of TCD on patient management and clinical outcomes are therefore warranted.

Myeloid phenotypes in severe COVID-19 predict secondary infection and mortality: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: De-regulated host response to severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), directly referring to the concept of sepsis-associated immunological dysregulation, seems to be a strong signature of severe COVID-19. Myeloid cells phenotyping is well recognized to diagnose critical illness-induced immunodepression in sepsis and has not been well characterized in COVID-19. The aim of this study is to review phenotypic characteristics of myeloid cells and evaluate their relations with the occurrence of secondary infection and mortality in patients with COVID-19 admitted in an intensive care unit. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the circulating myeloid cells phenotypes of adult COVID-19 critically ill patients. Phenotyping circulating immune cells was performed by flow cytometry daily for routine analysis and twice weekly for lymphocytes and monocytes subpopulations analysis, as well as monocyte human leukocyte antigen (mHLA)-DR expression. RESULTS: Out of the 29 critically ill adult patients with severe COVID-19 analyzed, 12 (41.4%) developed secondary infection and six patients died during their stay. Monocyte HLA-DR kinetics was significantly different between patients developing secondary infection and those without, respectively, at day 5-7 and 8-10 following admission. The monocytes myeloid-derived suppressor cells to total monocytes ratio was associated with 28- and 60-day mortality. Those myeloid characteristics suggest three phenotypes: hyperactivated monocyte/macrophage is significantly associated with mortality, whereas persistent immunodepression is associated with secondary infection occurrence compared to transient immunodepression. CONCLUSIONS: Myeloid phenotypes of critically ill COVID-19 patients may be associated with development of secondary infection, 28- and 60-day mortality.

Expert consensus-based clinical practice guidelines management of intravascular catheters in the intensive care unit.

The French Society of Intensive Care Medicine (SRLF), jointly with the French-Speaking Group of Paediatric Emergency Rooms and Intensive Care Units (GFRUP) and the French-Speaking Association of Paediatric Surgical Intensivists (ADARPEF), worked out guidelines for the management of central venous catheters (CVC), arterial catheters and dialysis catheters in intensive care unit. For adult patients: Using GRADE methodology, 36 recommendations for an improved catheter management were produced by the 22 experts. Recommendations regarding catheter-related infections' prevention included the preferential use of subclavian central vein (GRADE 1), a one-step skin disinfection(GRADE 1) using 2% chlorhexidine (CHG)-alcohol (GRADE 1), and the implementation of a quality of care improvement program. Antiseptic- or antibiotic-impregnated CVC should likely not be used (GRADE 2, for children and adults). Catheter dressings should likely not be changed before the 7th day, except when the dressing gets detached, soiled or impregnated with blood (GRADE 2- adults). CHG dressings should likely be used (GRADE 2+). For adults and children, ultrasound guidance should be used to reduce mechanical complications in case of internal jugular access (GRADE 1), subclavian access (Grade 2) and femoral venous, arterial radial and femoral access (Expert opinion). For children, an ultrasound-guided supraclavicular approach of the brachiocephalic vein was recommended to reduce the number of attempts for cannulation and mechanical complications. Based on scarce publications on diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and on their experience (expert opinion), the panel proposed definitions, and therapeutic strategies.

Supraclavicular Approach to Ultrasound-Guided Brachiocephalic Vein Cannulation in Children and Neonates.

The correct choice of intra vascular access in critically ill neonates should be individualized depending on the type and duration of therapy, gestational and chronological age, weight and/or size, diagnosis, clinical status, and venous system patency. Accordingly, there is an ongoing demand for optimization of catheterization. Recently, the use of ultrasound (US)-guided cannulation of the subclavian vein (SCV) has been described in children and neonates. This article gives an overview of the current use of US for achieving central venous catheter placement in the SCV or the brachiocephalic vein (BCV) in neonates. More than 1,250 catheters have been reported inserted in children and neonates for a cumulated success rate of 98.4% and the complication rate is reported to be low. The technical aspects of various approaches are discussed, and we offer our recommendation of an US-guided technique for SCV and BCV cannulation based on our experience in a large NICU setting. Although the cannulation the SCV or BCV does not substitute the use of peripherally inserted central catheters or umbilical venous central catheters in neonates, it is a feasible route in very small children who are in need of a large caliber central venous access.

Epidemiology and neonatal pain management of heelsticks in intensive care units: EPIPPAIN 2, a prospective observational study.

BACKGROUND: Heelstick is the most frequently performed skin-breaking procedure in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). There are no large multicenter studies describing the frequency and analgesic approaches used for heelsticks performed in NICUs. OBJECTIVES: To describe the frequency of heelsticks and their analgesic management in newborns in the NICU. To determine the factors associated with the lack of specific preprocedural analgesia for this procedure. DESIGN: EPIPPAIN 2 (Epidemiology of Procedural PAin In Neonates) is a descriptive prospective epidemiologic study. SETTING: All 16 NICUs in the Paris region in France. PARTICIPANTS: All newborns in the NICU with a maximum corrected age of 44 weeks +6 days of gestation on admission who had at least one heelstick during the study period were eligible for the study. The study included 562 newborns. METHODS: Data on all heelsticks and their corresponding analgesic therapies were prospectively collected. The inclusion period lasted six weeks, from June 2, 2011 to July 12, 2011. Newborns were followed from their admission to the 14th day of their NICU stay or discharge, whichever occurred first. RESULTS: The mean (SD) gestational age was 33.3 (4.4) weeks and duration of participation was 7.5 (4.4) days. The mean (SD; range) of heelsticks per neonate was 16.0 (14.4; 1-86) during the study period. Of the 8995 heelsticks studied, 2379 (26.4%) were performed with continuous analgesia, 5236 (58.2%) with specific preprocedural analgesia. Overall, 6764 (75.2%) heelsticks were performed with analgesia (continuous and/or specific). In a multivariate model, the increased lack of preprocedural analgesia was associated with female sex, term birth, high illness severity, tracheal or noninvasive ventilation, parental absence and use of continuous sedation/analgesia. CONCLUSIONS: Heelstick was very frequently performed in NICUs. Although, most heelsticks were performed with analgesia, this was not systematic. The high frequency of this procedure and the known adverse effects of repetitive pain in neonates should encourage the search of safe and effective strategies to reduce their number.