Perioperative stress and anxiety in parents of children operated on for congenital heart disease.

INTRODUCTION: Levels of stress and anxiety suffered by parents of children with congenital heart disease (PCUCS) during their children's admission for cardiac surgery may be higher than those suffered by other parents who go through the same experience. OBJECTIVE: General objective of this study was to measure the stress and anxiety suffered by PCUCS and parents of children undergoing renal surgery (PCURS) in relation to the intervention of their children. The specific objective of the quantitative study was to compare global stress and anxiety according to sex, time of the perioperative period, and cohort. The general objective of the qualitative section is to explore the experience that PCUCS and PCURS have during their hospital stay and to identify the specific factors that influence the genesis of stress and anxiety. METHOD: A cohort study was carried out in which PCURS and PCUCS were included. The quantitative part was performed by comparing the scores of three questionnaires that measure stress levels (PSS-14), state anxiety (STAIE) and trait anxiety (STAIR) throughout three perioperative moments. At the same time, a qualitative study was carried out with semi-structured interviews and collection of diaries on which a descriptive phenomenological analysis was carried out, according to Munhall. The analysis of the text was carried out according to Colaizzi. RESULTS: Stress and anxiety levels were significantly higher in PCUCS compared to PCURS. Mothers in the cardiac cohort were those with the highest scores on all scales. In the qualitative study, four themes emerged: "stress and anxiety from the moment of diagnosis", "surgical intervention as a critical moment", "harshness of the postoperative period in the Intensive Care Unit" and "joy and gratitude versus dependence and fear for the future". CONCLUSIONS: PCUCS suffer higher levels of stress and anxiety than PCURS, being the mothers of the cardiac cohort those who suffer these disorders with greater intensity. This study can constitute a starting point to develop strategies that cover these parental needs.

[Pulmonary reperfusion syndrome after pulmonary stent implants in a patient with vascular tortuosity syndrome]. / Síndrome de reperfusión pulmonar tras implante de stents pulmonares en un paciente con síndrome de tortuosidad vascular.

Vascular tortuosity syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes tortuosity and stenosis of the pulmonary, systemic and / or coronary circulations. As a result of treatment of pulmonary stenosis, symptoms of pulmonary edema, known as lung reperfusion syndrome, may occur. The case is presented of an adolescent patient with vascular tortuosity syndrome who presented with a pulmonary reperfusion syndrome after multiple stent implants in the left pulmonary artery. After the procedure, the patient immediately developed an acute pulmonary edema with severe clinical deterioration, which required assistance with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for recovery.

Assessing pulmonary hypertensive vascular disease in childhood. Data from the Spanish registry.

RATIONALE: There is a lack of knowledge regarding the epidemiology, clinical characterization, and survival in pediatric pulmonary hypertension. OBJECTIVES: To describe the epidemiology, outcomes, and risk factors for mortality in pediatric pulmonary hypertension in Spain. METHODS: We analyzed data from the Spanish Registry for Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension. From January 2009 to June 2012, a total of 225 patients diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 1998 or after were collected from 21 referral and nonreferral centers. We included all Nice etiologies, estimated incidence and prevalence of pulmonary hypertension in the Spanish pediatric population, and analyzed risk factors for mortality (Nice etiologic group, clinical and hemodynamic variables). Patients were classified as follows: group I, pulmonary arterial hypertension (n = 142; 61%); group II, left heart disease (n = 31; 14%); group III, respiratory disease (n = 41; 18%); group IV, thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (n = 2; 1%); or group V, mostly inherited metabolic diseases (n = 10; 4.5%). Of the patients studied, 31% had multifactorial pulmonary hypertension. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Mean age at diagnosis was 4.3 ± 4.9 years (50% < 2 yr). Survival rates at 1 and 3 years were 80 and 74% for the whole cohort, and 89 and 85% for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension. Independent risk factors for mortality included an etiologic group other than pulmonary arterial hypertension (P < 0.001), age at diagnosis younger than 2 years old (P < 0.001), advanced functional class at diagnosis (P < 0.001), and high right atrial pressure at diagnosis (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: In moderate to severe pediatric pulmonary hypertension, the prognosis is better in pulmonary arterial hypertension than in other Nice categories. In pediatric pulmonary hypertension age at diagnosis younger than 2 years is a risk factor for mortality, in addition to the previously established risk factors.

[Plastic bronchitis. A case report and review of the literature]. / Bronquitis plástica. A propósito de un caso y revisión de los casos asociados a cirugía de Fontan.

Plastic bronchitis is a rare complication in which bronchial casts of lymphatic origin develop in the tracheobronchial tree and cause airway obstruction. The main feature is expectoration of bronchial casts. This condition usually occurs in the postoperative period after the Fontan operation for congenital heart disease. Treatment modalities include mucolytics and chest physiotherapy, and in the most severe cases bronchoscopy to remove the casts and aerosolized urokinase or r-TPA. We describe a 12-year-old boy with pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum and severely hypoplastic right ventricle who underwent a modified Fontan operation at the age of 7 years. At the age of 12 years the patient started to present frequent episodes of coughing, dyspnea, and desaturation followed by difficult emission of white bronchial casts. An extracardiac Fontan conversion was performed to improve hemodynamics and symptoms. During the postoperative period frequent episodes of airway obstruction required bronchoscopy and finally improved with administration of aerosolized urokinase.

[Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: a cause of progressive respiratory distress]. / Papilomatosis respiratoria recurrente: una causa de dificultad respiratoria progresiva.

A 5-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department because of respiratory distress of 3 months' evolution that had worsened over the previous 3 weeks. Cervical radiograph and cervical computerized axial tomography showed an endolaryngeal mass almost completely occluding the airway. Urgent laryngoscopy revealed an endolaryngeal fleshy mass, which was excised during the procedure. Histological diagnosis was laryngeal papilloma. Although infrequent in children, laryngeal papilloma is the most common laryngeal tumor in pediatrics. It is currently named juvenile onset recurrent respiratory papillomatosis. The human papilloma virus (HPV) causes the disease by vertical transmission from a mother with active or latent vulvar HPV infection.

[Perineal bag versus urethral catheterization of suprapubic aspiration for the diagnosis of urinary tract infections in infants in emergency units]. / Bolsa perineal versus sondaje uretral o punción suprapúbica para el diagnóstico de infección urinaria en el lactante en las unidades de urgencias.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to determine the utility of urine cultures collected by sterile perineal bags as a method of diagnosis of urinary tract infection in infants. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-two patients, aged 0 to 27 months, were diagnosed with urinary tract infections based on the growth of more than 100,000 colonies/ml in two urine cultures collected by sterile bags. Confirmation of the infection was done by urine cultures obtained by suprapubic aspiration or urethral catheterization. A urinalysis was simultaneously performed. RESULTS: Urinary tract infection was confirmed in only 6 out of 42 patients. The positive predictive value of the sterile bag was 14%, increasing to 42% combined with an abnormal urinalysis. CONCLUSIONS: The sterile perineal bag is not an accurate method to collect urine for diagnosis of urinary tract infections in febrile infants or those who need prompt diagnosis and treatment.

[Transcutaneous bilirubin measurement in neonates]. / Bilirrubina transcutánea en neonatos.

A study was performed to determine, in our population, the relationship between transcutaneous, visual and serum bilirubin values. This was done in attempts to reduce the number of serum bilirubin determinations to be performed in the future. We did a correlation coefficient between serum bilirubin and five measurements of transcutaneous bilirubin levels in a group of 60 term newborns and 60 preterm newborns, obtaining a value of 0.84 in both groups. The results were also considered from an analytical point of view where the ability of the test to predict an alteration in serum bilirubin levels, for example > or = 12 mg/dl in preterm and > or = 13 mg/dl in term newborns, was assessed. For values of 18 in preterm and 17 in term infants, the transcutaneous method was found to be both sensitive and specific. If Kramer's test is also evaluated the results improve.