Airway Anomalies in Pediatric Patients After Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease: Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Study, Taiwan 2017-2020.

OBJECTIVES: Airway anomalies increase risk of morbidity and mortality in postoperative pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). We aimed to identify airway anomalies and the association with intermediate outcomes in patients undergoing surgery for CHD. DESIGN: Single-center, hospital-based retrospective study in Taiwan, 2017-2020. SETTING: A tertiary referral hospital in Taiwan. PATIENTS: All pediatric patients who underwent surgery for CHD and were admitted to the PICU and had data about airway evaluation by cardiopulmonary CT scan or bronchoscopy. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 820 CHD patients identified as having undergone airway evaluation in the PICU, 185 (22.6%) were diagnosed with airway anomalies, including structural lesions in 146 of 185 (78.9%), and dynamic problems were seen in 87 of 185 (47.0%). In this population, the explanatory factors associated with greater odds (odds ratio [OR]) of airway anomaly were premature birth (OR, 1.90; p = 0.002), genetic syndromes (OR, 2.60; p < 0.001), and in those with preoperative ventilator use (OR, 4.28; p < 0.001). In comparison to those without airway anomalies, the presence of airway anomalies was associated with higher hospital mortality (11.4% vs. 2.7%; p < 0.001), prolonged intubation days (8 d [1-27 d] vs. 1 d [1-5 d]; p < 0.001), longer PICU length of stay (23 d [8-81 d] vs. 7 d [4-18 d]; p < 0.001), and greater hazard of intermediate mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.60; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In our single-center retrospective study, 2017-2020, between one-in-five and one-in-four of our postoperative CHD patients undergoing an airway evaluation had airway anomalies. Factors associated with greater odds of airway anomaly included, those with premature birth, or genetic syndromes, and preoperative ventilator use. Overall, in patients undergoing airway evaluation, the finding of an airway anomalies was associated with longer postoperative intubation duration and greater hazard of intermediate mortality.

The applications of high-flow nasal cannulas in pediatric intensive care units in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: /purpose: The use of high-flow nasal cannulas (HFNC) in patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) has gradually increased worldwide; however, details on clinical efficacy remain limited in Taiwan. Therefore, we explored the clinical characteristics and outcomes of pediatric patients using HFNC in the PICU. METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively collected from pediatric patients (aged <18 years) who received HFNC support from December 2021 to January 2023 in the PICU of a medical center. Outcome parameters included treatment failure (defined as increased respiratory support to advanced non-invasive ventilators or intubations), duration of support from HFNC, and changes in clinical parameters after initiating HFNC. RESULTS: A total of 261 episodes of HFNC use were included, with a failure rate of 24.5% and a median support length of 4 days. Multivariable analysis showed that infant age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.1, p = 0.02) and accompanying complex chronic disease (aOR: 4.4, p = 0.014) were risk factors for treatment failure and a diagnosis of asthma or bronchiolitis had a lower hazard of treatment failure (aOR: 0.29, p = 0.025) than other diagnoses did. Improvements in clinical parameters, including pulse rate, respiratory rate, SpO2, and CO2 levels, were observed 24 h after the initiation of HFNC. CONCLUSION: The application of HFNC in the PICU in Taiwan is effective but should be performed with care in infants with accompanying complex chronic diseases. In addition to low treatment failure, HFNC utilizations stabilized the clinical parameters of children with asthma/bronchiolitis within one day.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with COVID-19 in pediatric intensive care units during the Omicron wave in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: Since April 2022, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has caused a notable increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases in Taiwan. During the acute phase of infection, some children required admissions to pediatric intensive care units (PICU). This study aimed to analyze their clinical presentations and outcomes while exploring associated factors. METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively collected from patients with COVID-19 (aged <18 years) admitted to our PICU from April 2022-March 2023. Early stage is defined as the period without adequate vaccination and treatment guidelines for children from April-June 2022, and the remaining months are referred to as late stage. Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between patients in early and late stages. RESULTS: We enrolled 78 children with COVID-19, with a median length of stay (LOS) in PICU of 3 days and a 5% mortality rate. Patients admitted during the early stage had lower vaccination rates (7% vs. 50%), higher pediatric logistic organ dysfunction scores (2 vs. 0.1), and longer LOS in the PICU (6 vs. 2 days) than those admitted during the late stage. Multivariate analysis identified admission during the early stage as a risk factor for prolonged LOS (>7 days) in the PICU (odds ratio: 3.65, p = 0.047). CONCLUSION: Without available vaccinations and suitable treatment guidelines, children with COVID-19 tended to have more severe illness and prolonged LOS in the PICU. These observations highlight the importance of vaccinations and familiarity of medical providers with adequate management of this newly-emerging infectious disease.

Clinical manifestations and risk factors of shock in children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a novel disease associated with COVID-19. The COVID-19 epidemic peaked in May 2022 in Taiwan, and we encountered our first case of MIS-C in late May 2022. We aimed to present patients' clinical manifestations and identify risk factors for shock. METHODS: We included patients diagnosed with MIS-C at two medical centers from May 2022 to August 2022. We separated those patients into two groups according to whether they experienced shock. We collected demographic, clinical manifestation, and laboratory data of the patients and performed statistical analysis between the two groups. RESULTS: We enrolled 28 patients, including 13 (46 %) with shock and 15 (54 %) without shock. The median age was 6.4 years (IQR: 1.9-7.5). In single variable analysis, patients with shock tended to be older, had more neurological symptoms, more conjunctivitis and strawberry tongue, lower lymphocyte count, lower platelet counts, and higher C-reactive protein, higher procalcitonin, higher ferritin, and higher D-dimer levels than those without shock. The area under the ROC curve that used procalcitonin to be the risk factor of shock with MIS-C was 0.815 (95 % CI 0.644 to 0.987). The cutoff value obtained by ROC analysis of procalcitonin was 1.68 ng/mL. With this cutoff, the test characteristics of procalcitonin were as follows: sensitivity 77 %, specificity 93 %, positive predictive value 91 %, negative predictive value 82 %. Multivariable analysis revealed that procalcitonin was the only independent risk factor of shock with MIS-C on admission (OR, 26.00, 95 % CI, 1.01-668.89). CONCLUSIONS: MIS-C patients with high initial procalcitonin levels have higher risks of experiencing shock and may need ICU admission.

High incidence of cerebrovascular lesions on magnetic resonance imaging in pediatric COVID-19 during omicron outbreak - A retrospective case series.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of pediatric hospitalizations has significantly increased since the spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19. Changes of characteristics in respiratory and neurological symptoms have been reported. We performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study to characterize the MRI change in children with an emphasis on the change of cerebral vasculatures. METHODS: We retrospectively collected clinical and MRI data of 31 pediatric patients with neurological symptoms during the acute infection and abnormalities on MRI during the outbreak of omicron variant from April 2022 to June 2022 in Taiwan. The clinical manifestations and MRI abnormalities were collected and proportion of patients with vascular abnormalities was calculated. RESULTS: Among 31 pediatric patients with post-COVID-19 neurological symptoms, MRI abnormalities were observed in 15 (48.4%), predominantly encephalitis/encephalopathy (73.3%). Notable MRI findings included focal diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) hyperintensity in cerebral cortex and thalamus, diffuse cortical T2/DWI hyperintensity, and lesions in the medulla, pons, cerebellum, and splenium of corpus callosum. Vascular abnormalities were seen in 12 (80%) patients with MRI abnormalities, mainly affecting the middle cerebral arteries. The spectrum of neurological manifestations ranged from seizures to Alice in Wonderland syndrome, underscoring the diverse impact of COVID-19 on pediatric patients. CONCLUSION: A high proportion of vascular abnormalities was observed in pediatric patients with neurological involvements, suggesting that vascular involvement is an important mechanism of neurological manifestations in omicron variant infection.

Multicenter registry of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and Paired comparison with Kawasaki disease.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify clinical characteristics to differentiate multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and Kawasaki disease (KD) in Taiwan, an island with a delayed cluster of MIS-C and a high incidence of KD. Additionally, we studied risk factors for developing severe complications in patients with MIS-C. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, multicenter, cohort, and observational study that linked data on patients with MIS-C between May and December 2022 and patients with KD between 2019 and 2021 from 12 medical centers. Hemodynamic compromise, defined as the need for inotropic support or fluid challenge, was recorded in patients with MIS-C. We also evaluated maximal coronary Z-scores before treatment and one month after disease onset. RESULTS: A total of 83 patients with MIS-C and 466 patients with KD were recruited. A 1:1 age and gender-matched comparison of 68 MIS-C and KD pairs showed that MIS-C patients had a lower percentage of positive BCG red halos, lower leukocyte/platelet counts, more gastrointestinal symptoms, and a higher risk of hemodynamic compromise. In Taiwan, 38.6% of MIS-C patients experienced hemodynamic compromise, with presence of conjunctivitis and elevated levels of procalcitonin (>1.62 ng/mL) identified as independent risk factors. CONCLUSION: We identified two independent risk factors associated with hemodynamic compromise in MIS-C patients. The comparison between matched MIS-C and KD patients highlighted significant differences in clinical presentations, like BCG red halos, which may aid in the differential diagnosis of the two disease entities, especially in regions with a high incidence rate of KD.

The clinical predictors of and vaccine protection against severe influenza infection in children.

Influenza infection in children causes a tremendous global burden. In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical predictors of severe influenza among children. We retrospectively included hospitalized children who had laboratory-confirmed influenza infection and were admitted to a medical center in Taiwan between 2010 and 2018. Severe influenza infection was defined as needing intensive care. We compared demographics, comorbidities, vaccine status and outcomes between patients with severe and nonsevere infection. There were 1030 children hospitalized for influenza infection: 162 patients needed intensive care and 868 patients did not. Multivariable analysis revealed that an age below 2 years (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 3.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.22-4.95), underlying cardiovascular disease (aOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.04-3.25), neuropsychological (aOR 4.09, 95% CI 2.59-6.45) or respiratory disease (aOR 3.87, 95% CI 1.42-10.60), patchy infiltrates (aOR 2.52, 95% CI 1.29-4.93), pleural effusion (aOR 6.56, 95% CI 1.66-25.91), and invasive bacterial coinfection (aOR 21.89, 95% CI 2.19-218.77) were significant clinical predictors of severe disease, whereas severe infection was less likely in individuals who had received influenza and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) (aOR 0.51, 95% CI 0.28-0.91; aOR 0.35, 95% CI 0.23-0.51, respectively). The most significant risk factors associated with severe influenza infection were an age under 2 years, comorbidities (cardiovascular, neuropsychological, and respiratory diseases), patchy infiltrates or effusion shown on chest X-rays, and bacterial coinfections. The incidence rate of severe disease was significantly lower in those who had received influenza vaccines and PCVs.

Application of nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction respiratory and pneumonia panels in children with severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a serious clinical concern. A lack of accurate diagnosis could hinder pathogen-directed therapeutic strategies. To solve this problem, we evaluated clinical application of nested multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in children with severe CAP. We prospectively enrolled 60 children with severe CAP requiring intensive care between December 2019 and November 2021 at a tertiary medical center. Nested multiplex PCR respiratory panel (RP) and pneumonia panel (PP) were performed on upper and lower respiratory tract specimens. We integrated standard-of-care tests and quantitative PCR for validation. The combination of RP, PP, and standard-of-care tests could detect at least one pathogen in 98% of cases and the mixed viral-bacterial detection rate was 65%. The positive percent agreement (PPA), and negative percent agreement (NPA) for RP were 94% and 99%; the PPA and NPA for PP were 89% and 98%. The distribution of pathogens was similar in the upper and lower respiratory tracts, and the DNA or RNA copies of pathogens in the lower respiratory tract were equal to or higher than those in the upper respiratory tract. PP detected bacterial pathogens in 40 (67%) cases, and clinicians tended to increase bacterial diagnosis and escalate antimicrobial therapy for them. RP and PP had satisfactory performance to help pediatricians make pathogenic diagnoses and establish therapy earlier. The pathogens in the upper respiratory tract had predictive diagnostic values for lower respiratory tract infections in children with severe CAP.

The impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic and national public restrictions on Pediatric Intensive Care Units in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic challenges pediatric health globally by limited medical accessibility. In response to COVID-19 epidemic in Taiwan, public restrictions were applied and the Level 3 alert was announced from May to July in 2021 for local outbreak. This study aims to analyze patients' clinical features and outcomes in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) during the COVID-19 epidemic with the Level 3 alert in Taiwan. METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively collected in patients admitted to the PICU of National Taiwan University Children's Hospital from May to July 2021 (Level 3 alert) and May to July 2019 and 2020 (control periods). Clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared between patients in the period with the Level 3 alert and control periods. RESULTS: During the study period, PICU monthly admissions significantly decreased in the Level 3 alert period and were negatively correlated with monthly newly confirmed COVID-19 cases. Patients admitted during the Level 3 alert were older, had higher disease severity, lower proportion of cardiovascular disease, and higher proportion of hematology-oncology diseases than those in the control group. After adjusting for the above factors, admission during Level 3 alert was an independent factor for higher mortality rate and prolonged length of stay (>14 days) in the PICU. CONCLUSION: During the COVID-19 epidemic with strict public restrictions, critically ill patients admitted to the PICU decreased but had increased disease severity, prolonged length of stay in the PICU, and higher mortality, reflecting the impact of quarantine and limited medical access.

Outcomes of pediatric patients supported with ventricular assist devices single center experience.

BACKGROUND: There has been a remarkable increase in the number of pediatric ventricular assist device (VAD) implanted over the past decade. Asian pediatric heart centers had not participated in the multicenter registries among the Western countries. This article aimed to report the outcomes of pediatric VAD in our hospital. METHODS: The study enrolled all patients aged <18 years at the time of VAD implantation in our institution between 2008 and 2021. RESULTS: There were 33 patients with diagnosis of acute fulminant myocarditis (n = 9), congenital heart disease (n = 5), dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 16), and others. Paracorporeal continuous-flow pump was the most frequently implanted (n = 27). Most of the devices were implanted in patients with INTERMACS profile 1 (n = 24). The median duration on VAD was 22 days (range 2-254). The proportion of patients attaining positive outcomes (alive on device, bridge to transplantation or recovery) was 72.7% at 1 month, 67.7% at 3 months, and 67.7% at 6 months. Most of the deaths on device occurred within the first month post-implant (n = 9), with neurological complications being the most frequent cause of death. All recovered cases were successfully weaned off the device within the first month of implantation. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated a favorable outcome in pediatric patients supported with VAD at our institution.

Surgical resection for congenital lung malformation: Lessons learned from thoracotomy to biportal thoracoscopy under one-lung ventilation.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of thoracotomy and video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in children with congenital lung malformations (CLMs) in a tertiary referring center and to report our modified biportal VATS setting. METHODS: This is a single-center retrospective chart review study including children who underwent surgical resection for CLMs between January 2007 and December 2020. Patient characteristics and surgical outcomes were compared between open and thoracoscopy, as well as conventional VATS and biportal VATS. Biportal setting included an anterior utility wound and a camera trocar wound with one-lung ventilation. RESULTS: A total of 100 patients were identified. Twenty patients received thoracotomy, and 80 patients received VATS (67 conventional and 13 biportal VATS). The median age at operation was 0.4 months in the thoracotomy group and 4.7 months in the VATS group. More patients in the thoracotomy group had preoperative symptoms, comorbidities, and emergent operations. The patients who underwent thoracotomy had significantly longer postoperative ICU stays, chest tube durations, hospital stays, and more complications. The pathological analysis revealed 67 congenital pulmonary airway malformations, 27 pulmonary sequestration, 6 hybrid lesions, and one accompanying pleuropulmonary blastoma. Compared to conventional VATS, the ICU stay was shorter in the biportal VATS group, with comparable operative durations, hospital stay and complications. CONCLUSION: VATS for CLMs is associated with better postoperative recovery and fewer complications. Biportal VATS is also a safe and feasible approach.

Microrna-486-5P Regulates Human Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Cell Migration via Endothelin-1.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal or life-threatening disorder characterized by elevated pulmonary arterial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance. Abnormal vascular remodeling, including the proliferation and phenotypic modulation of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), represents the most critical pathological change during PAH development. Previous studies showed that miR-486 could reduce apoptosis in different cells; however, the role of miR-486 in PAH development or HPASMC proliferation and migration remains unclear. After 6 h of hypoxia treatment, miR-486-5p was significantly upregulated in HPASMCs. We found that miR-486-5p could upregulate the expression and secretion of ET-1. Furthermore, transfection with a miR-486-5p mimic could induce HPASMC proliferation and migration. We also found that miRNA-486-5p could downregulate the expression of SMAD2 and the phosphorylation of SMAD3. According to previous studies, the loss of SMAD3 may play an important role in miRNA-486-5p-induced HPASMC proliferation. Although the role of miRNA-486-5p in PAH in in vivo models still requires further investigation and confirmation, our findings show the potential roles and effects of miR-486-5p during PAH development.

Epidemiology of Cardiomyopathy in Taiwanese Population Aged Younger Than 65 Years.

Background: Few studies have investigated the epidemiology of cardiomyopathy (CMP) in the general population in Taiwan. The aim of this study was to investigate this issue. Methods: We identified patients aged < 65 years and diagnosed with CMP between 2001 and 2014 from the National Health Insurance Database of Taiwan 2000-2014. Those with known or presumed causes of CMP were further identified. Results: We identified 38,868 CMP patients (male/female = 2.13). Half had known or presumed causes of CMP, including coronary artery disease (23.6%), congenital heart disease (1.6%), metabolic disease (8.4%), conduction disturbance/dyssynchrony (2.2%), myocarditis (0.5%), muscular dystrophy (1.42%), Kawasaki disease (0.2%), nutrition problems or alcoholism (2.9%), and unspecified causes (12.4%). The incidence rates of CMP without known causes were 1.13 and 8.70 per 100,000 person-years in pediatric (0-19 years) and adult (20-64 years) populations, respectively. After an initial peak during infancy (9.16 per 100,000 person-years), the incidence declined to a nadir in those aged from 5 to 14 years, and then steadily increased during adulthood (26.51 per 100,000 person-years in those aged 60-64 years). Although mortality was higher in the pediatric (11.4%) than in the adult (1.5%) patients, the proportion of sudden death to all deaths was similar in the pediatric (9.9%) and adult (10.5%) patients. Conclusions: This study provides an epidemiological continuum of CMP in a Taiwanese population aged < 65 years. The results revealed an initial peak during infancy, followed by a decline in adolescence and a subsequent steady rise. The prognosis was poorer in the pediatric patients, and poorest in the infants. However, the risk of sudden death was the same in the adult and pediatric patients.

End-of-Life Care in Taiwan: Single-Center Retrospective Study of Modes of Death.

OBJECTIVES: Medical advances and the National Health Insurance coverage in Taiwan mean that mortality in the PICU is low. This study describes change in modes of death and end-of-life care in a single center, 2011-2017. SETTING: Multidisciplinary PICU in a tertiary referral Children's Hospital in Taiwan. PATIENTS: There were 316 deaths in PICU patients. INTERVENTIONS: Palliative care consultation in the PICU service occurred after the 2013 "Hospice Palliative Care Act" revision. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: In the whole cohort, 22 of 316 patients (7%) were determined as "death by neurologic criteria". There were 94 of 316 patients (30%) who had an event needing cardiopulmonary resuscitation within 24 hours of death: 17 of these patients (17/94; 18%) died after failed cardiopulmonary resuscitation without a do-not-resuscitate order, and the other 77 of 94 patients (82%) had a do-not-resuscitate order after cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Overall, there were 200 of 316 patients (63%) who had a do-not-resuscitate order and were entered into the palliative program: 169 of 200 (85%) died after life-sustaining treatment was limited, and the other 31 of 200 (15%) died after life-sustaining treatment was withdrawn. From 2011 to 2017, the time-trend in end-of-life care showed the following associations: 1) a decrease in PICU mortality utilization rate, from 22% to 7% (p < 0.001); 2) a decrease in use of catecholamine infusions after do-not-resuscitate consent, from 87% to 47% (p = 0.001), in patients having limitation in life-sustaining treatment; and 3) an increase in withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, from 4% to 31% (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In our practice in a single PICU-center in Taiwan, we have seen that the integration of a palliative care consultation service, developed after the revision of a national "Palliative Care Act," was associated with increased willingness to accept withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment and a lowered PICU care intensity at the end-of-life.

Risk factors for in-hospital mortality and acute kidney injury in neonatal-pediatric patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

BACKGROUND: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the most frequent complication in critically ill neonatal and pediatric patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. This study analyzed risk factors for in-hospital mortality and the incidence of AKI in neonatal and pediatric patients received ECMO support. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 105 neonatal and 171 pediatric patients who received ECMO support at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a tertiary care university hospital between January 2008 and December 2015. Demographic, clinical, and laboratory data were retrospectively collected as survival and AKI predictors, utilizing the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcome (KDIGO) consensus definition for AKI. RESULTS: In the 105 neonatal and 171 pediatric patients, the overall in-hospital mortality rate were 58% and 55% respectively. The incidence of AKI at post-ECMO 24 h were 64.8% and 61.4%. A greater KDIGO24-h severity was associated with a higher in-hospital mortality rate (chi-square test; p < 0.01) and decreased survival rate (log-rank tests, p < 0.01). In univariate logistic regression analysis of in-hospital mortality, the CVP level at post ECOMO 24-h increased odds ratio (OR) (OR = 1.27 [1.10-1.46], p = 0.001) of in-hospital mortality in neonatal group; as for pediatric group, elevated lactate (OR = 1.12 [1.03-1.20], p = 0.005) and PT (OR = 1.86 [1.17-2.96], p = 0.009) increased OR of in-hospital mortality. And the KDIGO24h stage 3 had the strongest association with in-hospital mortality in both neonatal (p = 0.005) and pediatric (p = 0.001) groups. In multivariate OR of neonatal and pediatric groups were 4.38 [1.46-13.16] (p = 0.009) and 3.76 [1.70-8.33] (p = 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: AKI was a significant risk factor for in-hospital mortality in the neonatal and pediatric patients who received ECMO support. A greater KDIGO24-h severity was associated with higher mortality rates and decreased survival rate in both neonatal and pediatric groups. Of note, KDIGO24h can be an easy and early tool for the prognosis of AKI in the neonatal and pediatric patients.

Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure ventilation efficiently improves respiratory distress in initial hours treating children with severe asthma exacerbation.

OBJECTIVE: Treatment of severe asthma exacerbation could be challenging, especially in the initial hours of acute attack when systemic corticosteroid is yet to take effect. In spite of using inhaled agents, the role of non-invasive ventilation (NIV), including Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP), had been addressed recently. METHODS: We reviewed 5-year experience in our hospital for records of patients who were admitted to pediatric intensive care unit because of severe asthma attack. The included admission records from 2012 to 2017 were grouped according to BiPAP use (Yes/No). Clinical parameters (heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), SpO2 and serum pCO2) at selected time intervals of treatment were collected for both groups and analyzed. RESULTS: We included data of 46 admissions from 33 different patients (24 with BiPAP and 21 without BiPAP.) The BiPAP group had significantly higher initial RR as well as higher severity scores compared with the other group (p < 0.001). The RR improved significantly in the following time intervals in BiPAP group. There was no significant difference in HR between groups in any of the time intervals. The serum pCO2 levels decreased significantly after initiation of ventilation support in the BiPAP group, and SpO2 levels improved significantly for both groups. CONCLUSION: BiPAP seemed efficient in improving respiratory rate and oxygenation in our study. It does not seem to cause additional irritation regarding that HR was not increased in BiPAP group compared with non-BiPAP group. Overall, BiPAP ventilation is safe and efficient in treating children with severe asthma attack.

Quantification of cardiac pumping mechanics in rats by using the elastance-resistance model based solely on the measured left ventricular pressure and cardiac output.

The cardiac pumping mechanics can be characterized by both the maximal systolic elastance (Emax) and theoretical maximum flow (Qmax), which are generated using an elastance-resistance model. The signals required to fit the elastance-resistance model are the simultaneously recorded left ventricular (LV) pressure and aortic flow (Qm), followed by the isovolumic LV pressure. In this study, we evaluated a single-beat estimation technique for determining the Emax and Qmax by using the elastance-resistance model based solely on the measured LV pressure and cardiac output. The isovolumic LV pressure was estimated from the measured LV pressure by using a non-linear least-squares approximation technique. The measured Qm was approximated by an unknown triangular flow (Qtri), which was generated by using a fourth-order derivative of the LV pressure. The Qtri scale was calibrated using the cardiac output. Values of EmaxtriQ and QmaxtriQ obtained using Qtri were compared with those of EmaxmQ and QmaxmQ obtained from the measured Qm. Healthy rats and rats with chronic kidney disease or diabetes mellitus were examined. We found that the LV Emax and Qmax can be approximately calculated using the assumed Qtri, and they strongly correlated with the corresponding values derived from Qm (P < 0.0001; n = 78): EmaxtriQ = 51.9133 + 0.8992 × EmaxmQ (r2 = 0.8257; P < 0.0001); QmaxtriQ = 2.4053 + 0.9767 × QmaxmQ (r2 = 0.7798; P < 0.0001). Our findings suggest that the proposed technique can be a useful tool for determining Emax and Qmax by using a single LV pressure pulse together with cardiac output.

Critical Trio Exome Benefits In-Time Decision-Making for Pediatric Patients With Severe Illnesses.

OBJECTIVES: Critical illnesses caused by undiagnosed genetic conditions are challenging in PICUs. Whole-exome sequencing is a powerful diagnostic tool but usually costly and often fail to arrive at a final diagnosis in a short period. We assessed the feasibility of our whole-exome sequencing as a tool to improve the efficacy of rare diseases diagnosis for pediatric patients with severe illness. DESIGN: Observational analysis. METHOD: We employed a fast but standard whole-exome sequencing platform together with text mining-assisted variant prioritization in PICU setting over a 1-year period. SETTING: A tertiary referral Children's Hospital in Taiwan. PATIENTS: Critically ill PICU patients suspected of having a genetic disease and newborns who were suspected of having a serious genetic disease after newborn screening were enrolled. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Around 50,000 to 100,000 variants were obtained for each of the 40 patients in 5 days after blood sampling. Eleven patients were immediately found be affected by previously reported mutations after searching mutation databases. Another seven patients had a diagnosis among the top five in a list ranked by text mining. As a whole, 21 patients (52.5%) obtained a diagnosis in 6.2 ± 1.1 working days (range, 4.3-9 d). Most of the diagnoses were first recognized in Taiwan. Specific medications were recommended for 10 patients (10/21, 47.6%), transplantation was advised for five, and hospice care was suggested for two patients. Overall, clinical management was altered in time for 81.0% of patients who had a molecular diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The current whole-exome sequencing algorithm, balanced in cost and speed, uncovers genetic conditions in infants and children in PICU, which helps their managements in time and promotes better utilization of PICU resources.

Study on ECG in the Adolescent.

Normal ECG values in newborns, infants, and children have been collected and published. ECG in the adolescent, however, remains, to be collected and studied. The present study was designed and carried out to establish the normal ECG standards in male and female adolescents. A total of 898 school children and adolescents screened and examined as healthy were divided by age and sex into 6-9, 9-13, and 13-18 years age-groups. A 12 lead conventional ECG was recorded in 10 mm/mV and 25 mm/s, utilizing an automated Fukuda Denshi FCP-4301, MS-DOS/IBM-AT ECG machine. Lead V3R was not taken. Analog-to-digital conversion was performed by Fukuda signal acquisition module at a sampling rate of 500 Hz. The data on 69 ECG parameters were analyzed for the mean, standard deviation, 2nd to 98th percentiles, 95% confidence intervals, and sex difference. Normal values on 69 ECG parameters, sex-specific heart rate, P-QRS-T interval, duration, axis, wave amplitude, and calculated R/S amplitude ratio and ventricular activation time by age-group and sex were established. Male and female difference was noted in 49 (71.0%) parameters, of which 3 (6.1%) began in 6-9 years age-group, 30 (61.2%) began in 9-13 years age-group, and 16 (32.7%) in 13-18 years age-group. No sex difference occurred in 20 (29.0%) parameters. Normal male and female ECG standards on 69 ECG parameters in the adolescent were established. ECG sex difference began to appear the earliest at ages 6-9 years, and it occurred mostly at ages 9-13 years and 13-18 years, reflecting the anatomical and physiological consequences of puberty.