Circulatory support for prolonged electro-mechanical standstill in fulminant pediatric myocarditis.

Pediatric patients with fulminant myocarditis can rarely present with complete heart block with severe hemodynamic compromise, cardiac arrest and require circulatory support. Additionally, patients with cardiac dysfunction that require extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support sometimes develop cardiac stun or standstill. These factors are associated with extremely poor survival. We present a case of fulminant myocarditis presenting with dense heart block, no ventricular electrical activity resuscitated with ECMO that developed prolonged cardiac standstill. We present the clinical course, management including ECMO followed by biventricular assist devices, pacing and review supporting literature. We hope that the case will highlight challenges in management and decision making in such patients.

Use of Virtual Reality for Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Simulation.

Simulation is a key component of training in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU), a complex environment that lends itself to virtual reality (VR)-based simulations. However, VR has not been previously described for this purpose. Two simulations were developed to test the use of VR in simulating pediatric CICU clinical scenarios, one simulating junctional ectopic tachycardia and low cardiac output syndrome, and the other simulating acute respiratory failure in a patient with suspected coronavirus disease 2019. Six attending pediatric cardiac critical care physicians were recruited to participate in the simulations as a pilot test of VR's feasibility for educational and practice improvement efforts in this highly specialized clinical environment. All participants successfully navigated the VR environment and met the critical endpoints of the two clinical scenarios. Qualitative feedback was overall positive with some specific critiques regarding limited realism in some mechanical aspects of the simulation. This is the first described use of VR in pediatric cardiac critical care simulation.