The panorama for children with heart disease in Colombia / El panorama de los niños con enfermedades cardiacas en Colombia

Abstract Notwithstanding the availability of human and technological resources, the care deficit in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with congenital heart diseases in Colombia is estimated at 50%. Barriers to healthcare delivery and access, both at the basic and specialized level, means that patients progress and reach advanced stages of the disease, with a direct impact on morbidity and mortality, and on the cost of care. Problems in early detection and diagnosis, poor access to specialized institutions, administrative constraints to authorize surgeries, diagnostic tests, and medical services, in addition to the lack of government recognition of national referral centers for the specialized management of these patients, compromise both the quality-of-life and the survival of patients. The purpose of this study is to highlight the current situation of patients and outline the diagnostic impact of the tools widely available in our environment for the detection of these pathologies.

Resumen En Colombia se estima un déficit de atención para el diagnóstico y tratamiento de los pacientes con cardiopatías congénitas del 50%, a pesar de contar con el equipo humano y tecnológico. Las barreras en el acceso a los servicios de salud, tanto en el nivel básico como en el especializado, hacen que los pacientes evolucionen hasta estadios avanzados, con impacto directo en la morbimortalidad y costo de atención. Los problemas en la detección y el diagnóstico temprano, la falta de acceso a centros especializados, las fallas administrativas en las autorizaciones quirúrgicas, diagnósticas y médicas, así como la falta de reconocimiento por parte del Estado de centros de referencia nacional para el manejo especializado de dichos pacientes hacen que tanto la calidad de vida como la sobrevida se encuentren comprometidas. El objetivo de este artículo es resaltar la problemática actual de los pacientes y describir el impacto diagnóstico de las herramientas ampliamente disponibles en nuestro medio para la detección de dichas enfermedades.

Structural equation modelling exploration of the key pathophysiological processes involved in cardiac surgery-related acute kidney injury in infants.

BACKGROUND: Uncertainties about the pathophysiological processes resulting in cardiac surgery-related acute kidney injury (AKI) in infants concern the relative impact of the most prominent risk factors, the clinical relevance of changes in glomerular filtration rate vs tubular injury, and the usefulness of available diagnostic tools. Structural equation modelling could allow for the assessment of these complex relationships. METHODS: A structural model was specified using data from a prospective observational cohort of 200 patients <1 year of age undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. It included four latent variables: AKI, modelled as a construct of perioperative creatinine variation, of oliguria and of urine neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL) concentrations; the cardiopulmonary bypass characteristics; the occurrence of a post-operative low cardiac output syndrome and the post-operative outcome. RESULTS: The model showed a good fit, and all path coefficients were statistically significant. The bypass was the most prominent risk factor, with a path coefficient of 0.820 (95 % CI 0.527-0.979), translating to a 67.2 % explanation for the risk of AKI. A strong relationships was found between AKI and early uNGAL excretion, and between AKI and the post-operative outcome, with path coefficients of 0.611 (95 % CI 0.347-0.777) and 0.741 (95 % CI 0.610-0.988), respectively. The path coefficient between AKI and a >50 % increase in serum creatinine was smaller, with a path coefficient of 0.443 (95 % CI 0.273-0.596), and was intermediate for oliguria, defined as urine output <0.5 ml kg(-1) h(-1), with a path coefficient of 0.495 (95 % CI 0.250-0.864). A path coefficient of -0.229 (95 % CI -0.319 to 0.060) suggested that the risk of AKI during the first year of life did not increase with younger age at surgery. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that cardiac surgery-related AKI in infants is a translation of tubular injury, predominately driven by the cardiopulmonary bypass, and linked to early uNGAL excretion and to post-operative outcome. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01219998 . Registered 11 October 2010.