Location of the Central Venous Catheter Tip With Bedside Ultrasound in Young Children: Can We Eliminate the Need for Chest Radiography?

OBJECTIVE: To compare the use of bedside ultrasound and chest radiography to verify central venous catheter tip positioning. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: PICU of a university hospital. PATIENTS: Patients aged 0-14 who required a central venous catheter. INTERVENTION: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Central venous catheter tip location was confirmed by ultrasound and chest radiography. Central venous catheters were classified as intra-atrial or extra-atrial according to their positions in relation to the cavoatrial junction. Central venous catheters located outside the vena cava were considered malpositioned. The distance between the catheter tip and the cavoatrial junction was measured. The time elapsed from image capture to interpretation was recorded. Fifty-one central venous catheters in 40 patients were analyzed. Chest radiography and ultrasound results agreed 94% of the time (κ coefficient, 0.638; p < 0.001) in determining intra-atrial and extra-atrial locations and 92% of the time in determining the diagnosis of central venous catheter malposition (κ coefficient, 0.670; p < 0.001). Chest radiography indicated a greater distance between the central venous catheter tip and the cavoatrial junction than measured by ultrasound, with a mean difference of 0.38 cm (95% CI, +0.27, +0.48 cm). Three central venous catheters were classified as extra-atrial by chest radiography but as intra-atrial by ultrasound. To locate the central venous catheter tip, ultrasound required less time than chest radiography (22.96 min [20.43 min] vs 2.23 min [1.06 min]; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Bedside ultrasound showed a good agreement with chest radiography in detecting central venous catheter tip location and revealing incorrect positions. Ultrasound could be a preferable method for routine verification of central venous catheter tip and can contribute to increased patient safety.

[Evaluation of coordination and balance in preterm children]. / Valoración de la coordinación y el equilibrio en niños prematuros.

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies show that many preterm children without apparent neurological sequelae present some difficulties in different areas, such as coordination or balance during their school years. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) has demonstrated to be a useful tool to validate the coordination, while the stabilometric platform was the reference standard test for validating the balance. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Case-control study carried out on preterm children from 7 to 10 years old and healthy term infant controls of the same ages. The same age band of MABC-2 was applied and the static balance by the stabilometric platform was analysed. RESULTS: A total of 89 subjects were included, 30 preterm children≤1,500g birthweight, 29 preterm children>1,500g birthweight, and 30 controls. Preterm children obtained the lowest scores on an overall basis in hand dexterity and balance tests in MABC-2, regardless of their birthweight. Lower gestational age was associated with poorer outcomes in hand dexterity and total scores in MABC-2. Balance results were similar using the stabilometric platform, regardless of prematurity. CONCLUSIONS: A little more than 10% preterm and term children could have coordination disorders or be at risk of developing them using the MABC-2. Despite the visual-motor coordination being similar, preterm children could face greater difficulties in hand dexterity while, in the absence of neurological comorbidity, preterm and term children balance could be comparable.

Ascending aorta elasticity in children with isolated bicuspid aortic valve.

BACKGROUND: Aortic dilation is common in children with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) but aortic complications are infrequent. The aim of this study was to investigate elastic properties of the ascending aorta (AAo) and its relation to AAo size in children with isolated BAV without significant valve dysfunction. METHODS: 24 children with isolated BAV and 24 healthy controls with tricuspid aortic valve (TAV) matched by gender, age and body surface area (BSA) were studied. Aortic strain (AS), aortic distensibility (DIS) and aortic stiffness index (SI) were derived from M-mode echocardiography at the AAo together with cuff blood pressure recordings. BAV children with dilated AAo (z score ≥ 2) and non dilated (z score<2) were compared. RESULTS: BAV children had larger aortas than controls at the sinuses of Valsalva, sinotubular junction and AAo (p<0.05). AS was lower in BAV than in controls (10.15 ± 4.93 vs 16.93 ± 5.17 p=0.000), DIS was lower in BAV than in controls (8.51 ± 3.90 vs 14.37 ± 4.20 p=0.000) and SI was higher in BAV than in controls (7.19 ± 4.45 vs 4.05 ± 2.33 p=0.04). There were no significant differences in AS, DIS and SI between children with dilated and non-dilated AAo. AS, DIS and SI were not related to BSA, age or AAo size. CONCLUSIONS: AAo elasticity assessed by transthoracic echocardiography is impaired in BAV children without significant valve dysfunction compared to TAV children. Impaired elasticity seems to be independent from aortic dilation. Measuring aortic elasticity may help to identify children at greater risk for complications as adults.

Valoración de la coordinación y el equilibrio en niños prematuros / Evaluation of coordination and balance in preterm children

INTRODUCCIÓN: Estudios recientes demuestran que muchos niños prematuros sin secuelas neurológicas aparentes presentan dificultades en diferentes áreas, como la coordinación o el equilibrio, durante la etapa escolar. El Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) constituye una herramienta validada para la valoración de la coordinación, mientras que la estabilometría sería la prueba gold standard para el equilibrio. Pacientes y método: Estudio de casos y controles realizado en niños prematuros de 7-10 años y controles sanos nacidos a término de la misma edad. En ambos grupos se aplicó la franja de edad número 2 del MABC-2 y se analizó el equilibrio estático mediante estabilometría. RESULTADOS: Se incluyeron 89 sujetos: 30 prematuros de peso al nacimiento ≤ 1.500 g, 29 prematuros de peso > 1.500 g y 30 controles. Los prematuros obtuvieron peores puntuaciones totales de forma global en destreza manual y equilibrio en el MABC-2, independientemente del peso al nacimiento. La menor edad gestacional supuso la obtención de peores puntuaciones en destreza manual y scores totales en el MABC-2. El equilibrio fue similar mediante la estabilometría, independientemente de la prematuridad. CONCLUSIONES: Algo más de un 10% de prematuros y controles podría tener trastornos de la coordinación o estar en riesgo de desarrollarlos empleando el MABC-2. A pesar de que la coordinación visomotriz fue similar, los prematuros podrían tener mayores dificultades en destreza manual, mientras que en ausencia de comorbilidad neurológica, el equilibrio postural parece ser equiparable al de los controles sanos de su misma edad

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies show that many preterm children without apparent neurological sequelae present some difficulties in different areas, such as coordination or balance during their school years. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children-2 (MABC-2) has demonstrated to be a useful tool to validate the coordination, while the stabilometric platform was the reference standard test for validating the balance. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Case-control study carried out on preterm children from 7 to 10 years old and healthy term infant controls of the same ages. The same age band of MABC-2 was applied and the static balance by the stabilometric platform was analysed. RESULTS: A total of 89 subjects were included, 30 preterm children ≤ 1,500 g birthweight, 29 preterm children > 1,500 g birthweight, and 30 controls. Preterm children obtained the lowest scores on an overall basis in hand dexterity and balance tests in MABC-2, regardless of their birthweight. Lower gestational age was associated with poorer outcomes in hand dexterity and total scores in MABC-2. Balance results were similar using the stabilometric platform, regardless of prematurity. CONCLUSIONS: A little more than 10% preterm and term children could have coordination disorders or be at risk of developing them using the MABC-2. Despite the visual-motor coordination being similar, preterm children could face greater difficulties in hand dexterity while, in the absence of neurological comorbidity, preterm and term children balance could be comparable