Hemodynamic and Echocardiographic Predictors of Mortality in Pediatric Patients on Venoarterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Multicenter Investigation.

BACKGROUND: Venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) supports patients with advanced cardiac dysfunction; however, mortality occurs in a significant subset of patients. The authors performed a multicenter, prospective study to determine hemodynamic and echocardiographic predictors of mortality in children placed on ECMO for cardiac support. METHODS: Over 8 years, six heart centers prospectively assessed echocardiographic and hemodynamic variables on full and minimum ECMO flow. Sixty-three patients were enrolled, ranging in age from 1 day to 16 years. Hemodynamic measurements included heart rate, vasoactive inotropic score, arteriovenous oxygen difference, pulse pressure, and lactate. Echocardiographic variables included shortening fraction, ejection fraction (EF), right ventricular fractional area change, outflow tract Doppler-derived stroke distance (velocity-time integral [VTI]), and degree of atrioventricular valve regurgitation. Patients were stratified into two groups: those who were able to wean within 48 hours of assessment and survived without ventricular assist devices or orthotopic heart transplantation (successful wean group) and those with unsuccessful weaning. For each patient, variables were compared between full and minimum ECMO flow for each group. RESULTS: Thirty-eight patients (60%) formed the unsuccessful group (two with ventricular assist devices, four with orthotopic heart transplantation, 24 deaths), and 25 constituted the successful wean group. At minimum flow, higher EF (53 ± 16% vs 40 ± 20%, P = .0094), less mitral regurgitation (0.8 ± 0.9 vs 1.4 ± 0.9, P = .0329), and lower central venous pressure (12.0 ± 3.9 vs 14.7 ± 5.4 mm Hg), along with higher VTI (9.0 ± 2.9 vs 6.8 ± 3.7 cm, P = .0154), correlated successful weaning. A longer duration of ECMO (8 vs 5 days, P < .0002) was associated with unsuccessful weaning. Multivariate logistic regression predicted minimum-flow EF and VTI to independently predict successful weaning with cutoff values by receiver operating characteristic analysis of EF > 41% (area under the curve, 0.712; P = .0005) and VTI > 7.9 cm (area under the curve, 0.729; P = .0010). CONCLUSIONS: Diminished VTI or EF during ECMO weaning predicts the need for orthotopic heart transplantation or ventricular assist device support or death in children on ECMO for cardiac dysfunction. Increased postwean central venous pressure or mitral regurgitation along with a prolonged ECMO course also predicted these adverse outcomes. These measurements should be used to help discriminate which patients will require alternative methods of circulatory support for survival.

Triiodothyronine Supplementation in Infants Undergoing Cardiopulmonary Bypass: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) profoundly suppresses circulating thyroid hormone levels in infants. We performed a multicenter randomized placebo controlled trial to determine if triiodothyronine (T3) supplementation improves reduces time to extubation (TTE) in infants after CPB. Infants (n = 220) undergoing cardiac surgery with CPB and stratified into 2 age cohorts: ≤30 days and >30 days to <152 days were randomization to receive either intravenous triiodothyronine or placebo bolus followed by study drug infusion until extubated or at 48 hours, whichever preceded. T3 did not significantly alter the primary endpoint, TTE (hazard ratio for chance of extubation (1.08, 95% CI: 0.82-1.43, P = 0.575) in the entire randomized population with censoring at 21 days. T3 showed no significant effect on TTE (HR 0.82, 95% CI:0.55-1.23, P = 0.341) in the younger subgroup or in the older (HR 1.38, 95% CI:0.95-2.2, P = 0.095). T3 also did not significantly impact TTE during the first 48 hours while T3 levels were maintained (HR 1.371, 95% CI:0.942-1.95, P = 0.099) No significant differences occurred for arrhythmias or other sentinel adverse events in the entire cohort or in the subgroups. This trial showed no significant benefit on TTE in the entire cohort. T3 supplementation appears safe as it did not cause an increase in adverse events. The study implementation and analysis were complicated by marked variability in surgical risk, although risk categories were balanced between treatment groups.

Physician Understanding of and Beliefs About Leadership.

GOAL: Little is known about how physicians conceptualize leadership, what factors influence that conceptualization, and how their conceptualization may impact willingness to lead. We sought to explore how physicians conceptualize leadership. METHODS: We conducted an exploratory study of data from a convenience sample of physicians across the United States using an anonymous, 54-item, online survey. We devised a novel leadership resonance score (LRS) to distinguish between leadership and management based on published definitions and prior pilot work. The activities fit on a spectrum from purely leadership actions to purely management actions, and we assigned a numeric value to each activity, allowing for quantification of a respondent's conceptualization of leadership as either more managing or more leading. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: There were 206 respondents (57% male; median age of 43 years [interquartile ranges, IQR: 32, 72]) who completed the survey. Respondents viewed leadership abilities to be highly important for physicians, with a median importance score of 80 (range 0-100, IQR: 50, 100). LRS indicated most physicians conflate leadership and management. Compared to other physicians, respondents assessed their own preparedness for leadership highly (median preparedness score: 70, IQR: 2, 100). Respondents' assessment of their preparedness for leadership was associated with age (Spearman's rho = 0.24, p < .001). LRS was not associated with preparedness for leadership (Spearman's rho = 0.12, p = .08). "Aversion to politics" was the most common barrier to interest in leadership (45%, 93/206), with "loss of personal time" being second (30%, 62/206). APPLICATIONS TO PRACTICE: Our data demonstrate physicians misunderstand the differences between leadership and management. We surmise that if an accurate conceptualization of leadership by physicians is associated with increased willingness to lead, then educational activities designed to improve physicians' understanding of leadership could be beneficial in increasing physicians' willingness to take on leadership positions. An increased willingness by physicians to take on leadership roles would ultimately have a positive impact not only on individual patient care, but also on the healthcare system as a whole.

Standardized Training for Physicians Practicing Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care.

OBJECTIVES: In the vast majority of Children's Hospitals, the critically ill patient can be found in one of three locations: the PICU, the neonatal ICU, and the cardiac ICU. Training, certification, and maintenance of certification for neonatology and critical care medicine are over seen by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and American Board of Pediatrics. There is no standardization of training or oversight of certification and maintenance of certification for pediatric cardiac critical care. DATA SOURCES: The curricula from the twenty 4th year pediatric cardiac critical care training programs were collated, along with the learning objectives from the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society published "Curriculum for Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine." STUDY SELECTION: This initiative is endorsed by the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society as a first step toward Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education oversight of training and American Board of Pediatrics oversight of maintenance of certification. DATA EXTRACTION: A taskforce was established of cardiac intensivists, including the directors of all 4th year pediatric cardiac critical care training programs. DATA SYNTHESIS: Using modified Delphi methodology, learning objectives, rotational requirements, and institutional requirements for providing training were developed. CONCLUSIONS: In the current era of increasing specialized care in pediatric cardiac critical care, standardized training for pediatric cardiac critical care is paramount to optimizing outcomes.

Establishing Entrustable Professional Activities in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care.

OBJECTIVES: Define a set of entrustable professional activities for pediatric cardiac critical care that are recognized as the core activities of the subspecialty by a diverse group of pediatric cardiac critical care physicians and that can be broadly and consistently applied irrespective of training pathway. DESIGN: Mixed methods study with sequential integration of qualitative and quantitative data. SETTING: Structured telephone interviews of pediatric cardiac critical care medical directors at Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium centers followed by an electronic survey of pediatric cardiac critical care physician members of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society from across the United States and internationally. SUBJECTS: Pediatric cardiac intensive care physicians. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Twenty-four of 26 eligible Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium medical directors participated in the interviews. Based on qualitative analyses of interview data, we identified an initial set of nine entrustable professional activities. Fifty-eight of 185 eligible physicians completed a subsequent survey asking them to rate their agreement with the entrustable professional activities. It showed consensus (> 80% agreement) with the entire initial set of entrustable professional activities, with greater than 96% agreement in most cases. The feedback from free-text survey responses was incorporated to generate a final set of entrustable professional activities. CONCLUSIONS: We generated a set of nine entrustable professional activities, which we believe can be broadly applied to any physician training in pediatric cardiac critical care, irrespective of individual training pathway. Next steps include incorporation of these entrustable professional activities into curriculum design and trainee assessment tools.

"Echo pause" for postoperative transthoracic echocardiographic surveillance.

BACKGROUND: No guidelines exist for inpatient postoperative transthoracic echocardiographic (TTE) surveillance in congenital heart disease. We prospectively evaluated indications for postoperative TTEs in patients with congenital heart disease to identify areas to improve upon (Phase 1) and then assessed the impact of a simple pilot intervention (Phase 2). METHODS: We included patients with RACHS-1 (Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery) scores of 2 and 3 to keep the cohort homogenous. During Phase 1, we collected data prospectively to identify postoperative TTEs for which there were no new findings and no associated clinical management decisions ("potentially redundant" TTEs). During Phase 2, prior to placement of a TTE order, an "Echo Pause" was performed during rounds to prompt review of prior TTE results and indication for the current order. The number of "potentially redundant" TTEs during Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 was compared. RESULTS: During Phase 1, 98 postoperative TTEs were performed on 51 patients. Potentially "redundant" TTEs were identified in two main areas: (a) TTEs ordered to evaluate pericardial effusion and (b) TTEs ordered with the indication of "postoperative," "follow-up," or "discharge" in the setting of a prior complete postoperative TTE and no apparent change in clinical status. During Phase 2, 101 TTEs were performed on 63 patients. The number of "potentially redundant" TTEs decreased from 14/98 (14%) to 5/101 (5%) (P = .026). CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the number of "potentially redundant" TTEs during inpatient postoperative surveillance of patients with congenital heart disease can be decreased by a simple intervention during rounds such as an "Echo Pause."

The Impact of Massage and Reading on Children's Pain and Anxiety After Cardiovascular Surgery: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this pilot study was three-fold: 1) to evaluate the safety and feasibility of instituting massage therapy in the immediate postoperative period after congenital heart surgery, 2) to examine the preliminary results on effects of massage therapy versus standard of care plus three reading visits on postoperative pain and anxiety, and 3) to evaluate preliminary effects of opioid and benzodiazepine exposure in patients receiving massage therapy compared with reading controls. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: An academic children's hospital. SUBJECTS: Sixty pediatric heart surgery patients between ages 6 and 18 years. INTERVENTIONS: Massage therapy and reading. MEASUREMENT AND MAIN RESULTS: There were no adverse events related to massage or reading interventions in either group. Our investigation found no statistically significant difference in Pain or State-Trait Anxiety scores in the initial 24 hours after heart surgery (T1) and within 48 hours of transfer to the acute care unit (T2) after controlling for age, gender, and Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery 1 score. However, children receiving massage therapy had significantly lower State-Trait Anxiety scores after receiving massage therapy at time of discharge (T3; p = 0.0075) than children receiving standard of care plus three reading visits. We found no difference in total opioid exposure during the first 3 postoperative days between groups (median [interquartile range], 0.80 mg/kg morphine equivalents [0.29-10.60] vs 1.13 mg/kg morphine equivalents [0.72-6.14]). In contrast, children receiving massage therapy had significantly lower total benzodiazepine exposure in the immediate 3 days following heart surgery (median [interquartile range], 0.002 mg/kg lorazepam equivalents [0-0.03] vs 0.03 mg/kg lorazepam equivalents [0.02-0.09], p = 0.0253, Wilcoxon rank-sum) and number of benzodiazepine PRN doses (0.5 [0-2.5] PRN vs 2 PRNs (1-4); p = 0.00346, Wilcoxon rank-sum). CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study demonstrated the safety and feasibility of implementing massage therapy in the immediate postoperative period in pediatric heart surgery patients. We found decreased State-Trait Anxiety scores at discharge and lower total exposure to benzodiazepines. Preventing postoperative complications such as delirium through nonpharmacologic interventions warrants further evaluation.

Surgical algorithm and results for repair of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collaterals.

OBJECTIVE: Pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries is a complex and heterogeneous form of congenital heart disease. There is a controversy regarding the optimal treatment of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. The purpose of this study was to summarize our algorithm and surgical results for pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. METHODS: This was a retrospective review of 307 patients undergoing primary surgical treatment of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. Excluded from this analysis were patients who had undergone prior surgical treatment at another institution and patients with single ventricle and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. There were 3 surgical pathways, including midline unifocalization (n = 241), creation of an aortopulmonary window (n = 46), and other (n = 20). RESULTS: For the 241 patients who underwent midline unifocalization, 204 (85.4%) had a single-stage complete repair. There were 37 patients who underwent a midline unifocalization and central shunt, and 24 have subsequently undergone complete repair. Forty-six patients underwent an aortopulmonary window, of whom 36 have subsequently had a complete repair. There were 20 patients who had complex anatomy and underwent procedures other than described, and14 have subsequently undergone complete repair. Thus, for the patients currently eligible, 280 (93.0%) have achieved complete repair. For the 204 patients who had a single-stage complete repair, the mean right ventricle to aortic pressure ratio was 0.36 ± 0.09. Seventy-six patients underwent a staged repair, and the mean right ventricle to aortic pressure ratio was 0.40 ± 0.09 (P < .05 compared with single-stage repair). There were 3 (1.5%) early and 8 (4.0%) late deaths for the single-stage complete repair cohort versus 4 (4.0%) early and 15 (14.9%) late deaths for all other procedures (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate that more than 90% of patients with pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries achieved complete repair. The overall mortality was significantly lower in the subgroup of patients who underwent single-stage complete repair.

Diagnostic errors in paediatric cardiac intensive care.

IntroductionDiagnostic errors cause significant patient harm and increase costs. Data characterising such errors in the paediatric cardiac intensive care population are limited. We sought to understand the perceived frequency and types of diagnostic errors in the paediatric cardiac ICU. METHODS: Paediatric cardiac ICU practitioners including attending and trainee physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and registered nurses at three North American tertiary cardiac centres were surveyed between October 2014 and January 2015. RESULTS: The response rate was 46% (N=200). Most respondents (81%) perceived that diagnostic errors harm patients more than five times per year. More than half (65%) reported that errors permanently harm patients, and up to 18% perceived that diagnostic errors contributed to death or severe permanent harm more than five times per year. Medication side effects and psychiatric conditions were thought to be most commonly misdiagnosed. Physician groups also ranked pulmonary overcirculation and viral illness to be commonly misdiagnosed as bacterial illness. Inadequate care coordination, data assessment, and high clinician workload were cited as contributory factors. Delayed diagnostic studies and interventions related to the severity of the patient's condition were thought to be the most commonly reported process breakdowns. All surveyed groups ranked improving teamwork and feedback pathways as strategies to explore for preventing future diagnostic errors. CONCLUSIONS: Paediatric cardiac intensive care practitioners perceive that diagnostic errors causing permanent harm are common and associated more with systematic and process breakdowns than with cognitive limitations.

The Burdens of Offering: Ethical and Practical Considerations.

We reflect upon highlights of a facilitated panel discussion from the 2016 Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society Meeting. The session was designed to explore challenges, share practical clinical experiences, and review ethical underpinnings surrounding decisions to offer intensive, invasive therapies to patients who have a poor prognosis for survival or are likely to be burdened with multiple residual comorbidities if survival is achieved. The discussion panel was representative of a variety of disciplines including pediatric cardiology, cardiac intensive care, nursing, and cardiovascular surgery as well as different health-care delivery systems. Key issues discussed included patient's best interests, physician obligations, moral distress, and communication in the context of decisions about providing therapy for patients with a poor prognosis.

Interprofessional Team's Perception of Care Delivery After Implementation of a Pediatric Pain and Sedation Protocol.

BACKGROUND: Pain and agitation are common experiences of patients in pediatric cardiac intensive care units. Variability in assessments by health care providers, communication, and treatment of pain and agitation creates challenges in management of pain and sedation. OBJECTIVES: To develop guidelines for assessment and treatment of pain, agitation, and delirium in the pediatric cardiac intensive unit in an academic children's hospital and to document the effects of implementation of the guidelines on the interprofessional team's perception of care delivery and team function. METHODS: Before and after implementation of the guidelines, interprofessional team members were surveyed about the members' perception of analgesia, sedation, and delirium management RESULTS: Members of the interprofessional team felt more comfortable with pain and sedation management after implementation of the guidelines. Team members reported improvements in team communication on patients' comfort. Members thought that important information was less likely to be lost during transfer of care. They also noted that the team carried out comfort management plans and used pharmacological and nonpharmacological therapies better after implementation of the guidelines than they did before implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Guidelines for pain and sedation management were associated with perceived improvements in team function and patient care by members of the interprofessional team.

Institution of Veno-arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Does Not Lead to Increased Wall Stress in Patients with Impaired Myocardial Function.

The effect of veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VA ECMO) on wall stress in patients with cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, or other cardiac conditions is unknown. We set out to determine the circumferential and meridional wall stress (WS) in patients with systemic left ventricles before and during VA ECMO. We established a cohort of patients with impaired myocardial function who underwent VA ECMO therapy from January 2000 to November 2013. Demographic and clinical data were collected and inotropic score calculated. Measurements were taken on echocardiograms prior to the initiation of VA ECMO and while on full-flow VA ECMO, in order to derive wall stress (circumferential and meridional), VCFc, ejection fraction, and fractional shortening. A post hoc sub-analysis was conducted, separating those with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and those with impaired systemic output. Thirty-three patients met inclusion criteria. The patients' median age was 0.06 years (range 0-18.7). Eleven (33%) patients constituted the organ failure group (Gr2), while the remaining 22 (66%) patients survived to discharge (Gr1). WS and all other echocardiographic measures were not different when comparing patients before and during VA ECMO. Ejection and shortening fraction, WS, and VCFc were not statistically different comparing the survival and organ failure groups. The patients' position on the VCFc-WS curve did not change after the initiation of VA ECMO. Those with PH had decreased WS as well as increased EF after ECMO initiation, while those with impaired systemic output showed no difference in those parameters with initiation of ECMO. The external workload on the myocardium as indicated by WS is unchanged by the institution of VA ECMO support. Furthermore, echocardiographic measures of cardiac function do not reflect the changes in ventricular performance inherent to VA ECMO support. These findings are informative for the interpretation of echocardiograms in the setting of VA ECMO. ECMO may improve ventricular mechanics in those with PH as the primary diagnosis.

Practice Patterns in Postoperative Echocardiographic Surveillance after Congenital Heart Surgery in Children: A Single Center Experience.

OBJECTIVES: To review current institutional practice and describe factors contributing to variation in inpatient postoperative imaging surveillance after congenital heart surgery. STUDY DESIGN: We reviewed records of all children who underwent congenital heart surgery from June to December 2014. Number and primary indications for postoperative transthoracic echocardiograms (TTEs), providers involved, cardiovascular intensive care unit (CVICU) and total hospital length of stay, and Risk-Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 scores were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 253 children (age at surgery: 8 months [2 days-19 years]) received 556 postoperative TTEs (median 1 TTE/patient [1-14]), and 23% had ≥3 TTEs. Fifteen of 556 TTEs (2.7%) revealed a new abnormal finding. The majority of TTEs (59%) were performed in the CVICU (1.5 ± 1.1 TTEs/week/patient), with evaluation of function as the most common indication (44%). Attending physician practice >10 years was not associated with fewer TTEs (P = .12). Patients with ≥3 TTEs had higher Risk-Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 scores (P = .001), longer CVICU lengths of stay (22 vs 3 days; P < .0001), longer overall hospitalizations (28 vs 7 days; P < .0001), and a higher incidence of mechanical circulatory support (10% vs 0%; P < .0001) than those with <3 TTEs. Eight patients with ≥3 TTEs did not survive, compared with 3 with <3 TTEs (P = .0004). CONCLUSIONS: There was wide intra-institutional variation in echocardiographic use among similar complexity surgeries. Frequency of postoperative echocardiographic surveillance was associated with degree of surgical complexity and severity of postoperative clinical condition. Few studies revealed new abnormal findings. These results may help establish evidence-based guidelines for inpatient echocardiographic surveillance after congenital heart surgery.

Silver-Impregnated Dressings for Sternotomy Incisions to Prevent Surgical Site Infections in Children.

BACKGROUND: The consequences of surgical site infections can be severe and range from short-term delays in discharge from the hospital to life-threatening infections such as mediastinitis. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of silver-impregnated dressings in decreasing surgical site infections in children after cardiac surgery. METHODS: A randomized, controlled trial was used to compare silver-impregnated dressings (59 participants) with standard dressings (58 participants). The study team supervised all dressing changes after a sternotomy and ensured adherence with the hospital's bundle for reduction of surgical site infections. The ASEPSIS tool was used to evaluate sternal wounds for evidence of infection. RESULTS: The 2 groups had comparable Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery scores, age, sex, weight, height, operating room characteristics, and number of chest tubes and/or pacemaker wires. No surgical site infections occurred in any study participant. Infections did occur, however, during the same period, in cardiac surgical patients who were not enrolled in the study. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence did not support the superiority of silver-impregnated dressings for prevention of surgical site infections in children after cardiac surgery. Adherence to a bundle for prevention of surgical site infections may have decreased the incidence of such infections in the study population during the study period.

Changes in Efficiency and Safety Culture After Integration of an I-PASS-Supported Handoff Process.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent publications have shown improved outcomes associated with resident-to-resident handoff processes. However, the implementation of similar handoff processes for patients moving between units and teams with expansive responsibilities presents unique challenges. We sought to determine the impact of a multidisciplinary standardized handoff process on efficiency, safety culture, and satisfaction. METHODS: A prospective improvement initiative to standardize handoffs during patient transitions from the cardiovascular ICU to the acute care unit was implemented in a university-affiliated children's hospital. RESULTS: Time between verbal handoff and patient transfer decreased from baseline (397 ± 167 minutes) to the postintervention period (24 ± 21 minutes) (P < .01). Percentage positive scores for the handoff/transitions domain of a national culture of safety survey improved (39.8% vs 15.2% and 38.8% vs 19.6%; P = .005 and 0.03, respectively). Provider satisfaction improved related to the information conveyed (34% to 41%; P = .03), time to transfer (5% to 34%; P < .01), and overall experience (3% to 24%; P < .01). Family satisfaction improved for several questions, including: "satisfaction with the information conveyed" (42% to 70%; P = .02), "opportunities to ask questions" (46% to 74%; P < .01), and "Acute Care team's knowledgeabout my child's issues" (50% to 73%; P = .04). No differences in rates of readmission, rapid response team calls, or mortality were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a multidisciplinary I-PASS-supported handoff process for patients transferring from the cardiovascular ICU to the acute care unit resulted in improved transfer efficiency, safety culture scores, and satisfaction of providers and families.

A Double-Blinded, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial of Aminophylline to Prevent Acute Kidney Injury in Children Following Congenital Heart Surgery With Cardiopulmonary Bypass.

OBJECTIVES: Acute kidney injury occurs commonly in children following congenital cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Aminophylline, a methylxanthine nonselective adenosine receptor antagonist, has been effective in the management of acute kidney injury in certain populations. This study sought to determine whether postoperative administration of aminophylline attenuates acute kidney injury in children undergoing congenital cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. DESIGN: Single-center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. SETTING: Tertiary center, pediatric cardiovascular ICU. PATIENTS: A total of 144 children after congenital heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. INTERVENTIONS: Seventy-two patients were randomized to receive aminophylline and 72 patients received placebo. Study drug was administered every 6 hours for 72 hours. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome variable was the development of any acute kidney injury, defined by the serum creatinine criteria of the Kidney Diseases: Improving Global Outcomes. Secondary outcomes included the development of severe acute kidney injury, time between cardiovascular ICU admission and first successful extubation, percent fluid overload, total fluid balance, urine output, bioelectrical impedance, and serum neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin. The unadjusted rate and severity of acute kidney injury were not different between groups; 43 of 72 (60%) of the treatment group and 36 of 72 (50%) of the placebo group developed acute kidney injury (p = 0.32). Stage 2/3 acute kidney injury occurred in 23 of 72 (32%) of the treatment group and 15 of 72 (21%) of the placebo group (p = 0.18). Secondary outcome measures also demonstrated no significant difference between treatment and placebo groups. Aminophylline administration was safe; no deaths occurred in either group, and rates of adverse events were similar (14% in the treatment group vs 18% in the placebo group; p = 0.30). CONCLUSIONS: In this placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, we found no effect of aminophylline to prevent acute kidney injury in children recovering from cardiac surgery performed with cardiopulmonary bypass. Future study of preoperative aminophylline administration to prevent acute kidney injury may be warranted.

Establishment of Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Advanced Practice Provider Services.

The addition of advanced practice providers (APPs; nurse practitioners and physician assistants) to a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (PCICU) team is a health care innovation that addresses medical provider shortages while allowing PCICUs to deliver high-quality, cost-effective patient care. APPs, through their consistent clinical presence, effective communication, and facilitation of interdisciplinary collaboration, provide a sustainable solution for the highly specialized needs of PCICU patients. In addition, APPs provide leadership, patient and staff education, facilitate implementation of evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives, and the performance of clinical research in the PCICU. This article reviews mechanisms for developing, implementing, and sustaining advance practice services in PCICUs.

Training Pathways in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care: Proceedings From the 10th International Conference of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society.

The increase in pediatric cardiac surgical procedures and establishment of the practice of pediatric cardiac intensive care has created the need for physicians with advanced and specialized knowledge and training. Current training pathways to become a pediatric cardiac intensivist have a great deal of variability and have unique strengths and weaknesses with influences from critical care, cardiology, neonatology, anesthesiology, and cardiac surgery. Such variability has created much confusion among trainees looking to pursue a career in our specialized field. This is a report with perspectives from the most common advanced fellowship training pathways taken to become a pediatric cardiac intensivist as well as various related topics including scholarship, qualifications, and credentialing.

Training fellows and residents in paediatric cardiac critical care.

As pediatric cardiac critical care becomes more sub-specialized it is reasonable to assume that dedicated units may provide a better infrastructure for improved multidisciplinary care, cardiac-specific patient safety initiatives, and dedicated training of fellows and residents. The knowledge base required to optimally manage pediatric patients with critical cardiac disease has evolved sufficiently to consider a standardized training curriculum and board certification for pediatric cardiac critical care. This strategy would potentially provide consistency of training and healthcare and improve quality of care and patient safety.

Exploring Value in Congenital Heart Disease: An Evaluation of Inpatient Admissions.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding value provides an important context for improvement. However, most health care models fail to measure value. Our objective was to categorize inpatient encounters within an academic congenital heart program based on clinical outcome and the cost to achieve the outcome (value). We aimed to describe clinical and nonclinical features associated with value. DESIGN: We defined hospital encounters based on outcome per resource utilized. We performed principal component and cluster analysis to classify encounters based on mortality, length of stay, hospital cost and revenue into six classes. We used nearest shrunken centroid to identify discriminant features associated with the cluster-derived classes. These features underwent hierarchical clustering and multivariate analysis to identify features associated with each class. STUDY SETTING/PATIENTS: We analyzed all patients admitted to an academic congenital heart program between September 1, 2009, and December 31, 2012. OUTCOME MEASURES/RESULTS: A total of 2658 encounters occurred during the study period. Six classes were categorized by value. Low-performing value classes were associated with greater institutional reward; however, encounters with higher-performing value were associated with a loss in profitability. Encounters that included insertion of a pediatric ventricular assist device (log OR 2.5 [95% CI, 1.78 to 3.43]) and acquisition of a hospital-acquired infection (log OR 1.42 [95% CI, 0.99 to 1.87]) were risk factors for inferior health care value. CONCLUSIONS: Among the patients in our study, institutional reward was not associated with value. We describe a framework to target quality improvement and resource management efforts that can benefit patients, institutions, and payers alike.