Kidney Health Monitoring in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates: A Modified Delphi Consensus Statement.

Importance: Kidney disease is common in infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Despite the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in infants discharged from the NICU, neither evidence- nor expert-based recommendations exist to guide clinical care after discharge. Objective: To develop recommendations for risk stratification and kidney health monitoring among infants after discharge from the NICU. Evidence Review: At the National Institute of Health-supported Consensus Workshop to Address Kidney Health in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Graduates meeting conducted in February 2024, a panel of 51 neonatal nephrology experts focused on 3 at-risk groups: (1) preterm infants, (2) critically ill infants with acute kidney injury (AKI), and (3) infants with critical cardiac disease. Using established modified Delphi processes, workgroups derived consensus recommendations. Findings: In this modified Delphi consensus statement, the panel developed 10 consensus recommendations, identified gaps in knowledge, and prioritized areas of future research. Principal suggestions include risk stratification at time of hospital discharge, family and clinician education and counseling for subsequent kidney health follow-up, and blood pressure assessment as part of outpatient care. Conclusions and Relevance: Preterm infants, critically ill infants with AKI, and infants with critical cardiac disease are at increased risk of CKD. We recommend (1) risk assessment at the time of discharge, (2) clinician and family education, and (3) kidney health assessments based on the degree of risk. Future work should focus on improved risk stratification, identification of early kidney dysfunction, and development of interventions to improve long-term kidney health.

Perioperative Care Models for Neonates With Congenital Heart Disease: Evolving Role of Neonatology Within the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

A multidisciplinary team is needed to optimally care for infants with congenital heart disease (CHD). Different compositions of teams trained in cardiology, critical care, cardiothoracic surgery, anesthesia, and neonatology have been identified as being primarily responsible for perioperative care of this high-risk population in dedicated cardiac intensive care units (CICUs). Although the specific role of cardiac intensivists has become more well defined over the past two decades, the responsibilities of neonatologists remain highly variable in the CICU with neonatologists providing care along with a unique spectrum of primary, shared, or consultative care. The neonatologist can function as the primary physician and assume all or share responsibility with the cardiac intensivists for the management of infants with CHD. A neonatologist can provide care as a secondary consultant physician in a supportive role for the primary CICU team. Additionally, neonates with CHD can be mixed with older children in a CICU, cohorted in a dedicated space within the CICU or placed in a stand-alone infant CICU without older children. Although variations exist between centers on which model of care is deployed and the location within a CICU, characterization of current practice patterns represents the initial step required to determine optimal best practices to improve the quality of care for neonates with cardiac disease. In this manuscript, we present four models utilized in the United States in which the neonatologist provides neonatal-cardiac-focused care in a dedicated CICU. We also outline the different permutations of location where neonates can be cared for in dedicated pediatric/infant CICUs.

Documentation of acute kidney injury at discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit and role of nephrology consultation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether NICU discharge summaries documented neonatal AKI and estimate if nephrology consultation mediated this association. STUDY DESIGN: Secondary analysis of AWAKEN multicenter retrospective cohort. EXPOSURES: AKI severity and diagnostic criteria. OUTCOME: AKI documentation on NICU discharge summaries using multivariable logistic regression to estimate associations and test for causal mediation. RESULTS: Among 605 neonates with AKI, 13% had documented AKI. Those with documented AKI were more likely to have severe AKI (70.5% vs. 51%, p < 0.001) and SCr-only AKI (76.9% vs. 50.1%, p = 0.04). Nephrology consultation mediated 78.0% (95% CL 46.5-109.4%) of the total effect of AKI severity and 82.8% (95% CL 70.3-95.3%) of the total effect of AKI diagnostic criteria on documentation. CONCLUSION: We report a low prevalence of AKI documentation at NICU discharge. AKI severity and SCr-only AKI increased odds of AKI documentation. Nephrology consultation mediated the associations of AKI severity and diagnostic criteria with documentation.