Epinephrine Dosing Intervals Are Associated With Pediatric In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Outcomes: A Multicenter Study.

OBJECTIVES: Data to support epinephrine dosing intervals during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are conflicting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between epinephrine dosing intervals and outcomes. We hypothesized that dosing intervals less than 3 minutes would be associated with improved neurologic survival compared with greater than or equal to 3 minutes. DESIGN: This study is a secondary analysis of The ICU-RESUScitation Project (NCT028374497), a multicenter trial of a quality improvement bundle of physiology-directed CPR training and post-cardiac arrest debriefing. SETTING: Eighteen PICUs and pediatric cardiac ICUs in the United States. PATIENTS: Subjects were 18 years young or younger and 37 weeks old or older corrected gestational age who had an index cardiac arrest. Patients who received less than two doses of epinephrine, received extracorporeal CPR, or had dosing intervals greater than 8 minutes were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: The primary exposure was an epinephrine dosing interval of less than 3 vs. greater than or equal to 3 minutes. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The primary outcome was survival to discharge with a favorable neurologic outcome defined as a Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score of 1-2 or no change from baseline. Regression models evaluated the association between dosing intervals and: 1) survival outcomes and 2) CPR duration. Among 382 patients meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, median age was 0.9 years (interquartile range 0.3-7.6 yr) and 45% were female. After adjustment for confounders, dosing intervals less than 3 minutes were not associated with survival with favorable neurologic outcome (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.10; 95% CI, 0.84-1.46; p = 0.48) but were associated with improved sustained return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) (aRR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.07-1.37; p < 0.01) and shorter CPR duration (adjusted effect estimate, -9.5 min; 95% CI, -14.4 to -4.84 min; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In patients receiving at least two doses of epinephrine, dosing intervals less than 3 minutes were not associated with neurologic outcome but were associated with sustained ROSC and shorter CPR duration.

Survival With Favorable Neurologic Outcome and Quality of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Following In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest in Children With Cardiac Disease Compared With Noncardiac Disease.

OBJECTIVES: To assess associations between outcome and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality for in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) in children with medical cardiac, surgical cardiac, or noncardiac disease. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of a multicenter cluster randomized trial, the ICU-RESUScitation Project (NCT02837497, 2016-2021). SETTING: Eighteen PICUs. PATIENTS: Children less than or equal to 18 years old and greater than or equal to 37 weeks postconceptual age receiving chest compressions (CC) of any duration during the study. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 1,100 children with IHCA, there were 273 medical cardiac (25%), 383 surgical cardiac (35%), and 444 noncardiac (40%) cases. Favorable neurologic outcome was defined as no more than moderate disability or no worsening from baseline Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category at discharge. The medical cardiac group had lower odds of survival with favorable neurologic outcomes compared with the noncardiac group (48% vs 55%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR] [95% CI], aOR 0.59 [95% CI, 0.39-0.87], p = 0.008) and surgical cardiac group (48% vs 58%; aOR 0.64 [95% CI, 0.45-0.9], p = 0.01). We failed to identify a difference in favorable outcomes between surgical cardiac and noncardiac groups. We also failed to identify differences in CC rate, CC fraction, ventilation rate, intra-arrest average target diastolic or systolic blood pressure between medical cardiac versus noncardiac, and surgical cardiac versus noncardiac groups. The surgical cardiac group had lower odds of achieving target CC depth compared to the noncardiac group (OR 0.15 [95% CI, 0.02-0.52], p = 0.001). We failed to identify a difference in the percentage of patients achieving target CC depth when comparing medical cardiac versus noncardiac groups. CONCLUSIONS: In pediatric IHCA, medical cardiac patients had lower odds of survival with favorable neurologic outcomes compared with noncardiac and surgical cardiac patients. We failed to find differences in CPR quality between medical cardiac and noncardiac patients, but there were lower odds of achieving target CC depth in surgical cardiac compared to noncardiac patients.

Early Cardiac Arrest Hemodynamics, End-Tidal C o2 , and Outcome in Pediatric Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Secondary Analysis of the ICU-RESUScitation Project Dataset (2016-2021).

OBJECTIVES: Cannulation for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation during active extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) is a method to rescue patients refractory to standard resuscitation. We hypothesized that early arrest hemodynamics and end-tidal C o2 (ET co2 ) are associated with survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome in pediatric ECPR patients. DESIGN: Preplanned, secondary analysis of pediatric Utstein, hemodynamic, and ventilatory data in ECPR patients collected during the 2016-2021 Improving Outcomes from Pediatric Cardiac Arrest study; the ICU-RESUScitation Project (ICU-RESUS; NCT02837497). SETTING: Eighteen ICUs participated in ICU-RESUS. PATIENTS: There were 97 ECPR patients with hemodynamic waveforms during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Overall, 71 of 97 patients (73%) were younger than 1 year old, 82 of 97 (85%) had congenital heart disease, and 62 of 97 (64%) were postoperative cardiac surgical patients. Forty of 97 patients (41%) survived with favorable neurologic outcome. We failed to find differences in diastolic or systolic blood pressure, proportion achieving age-based target diastolic or systolic blood pressure, or chest compression rate during the initial 10 minutes of CPR between patients who survived with favorable neurologic outcome and those who did not. Thirty-five patients had ET co2 data; of 17 survivors with favorable neurologic outcome, four of 17 (24%) had an average ET co2 less than 10 mm Hg and two (12%) had a maximum ET co2 less than 10 mm Hg during the initial 10 minutes of resuscitation. CONCLUSIONS: We did not identify an association between early hemodynamics achieved by high-quality CPR and survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome after pediatric ECPR. Candidates for ECPR with ET co2 less than 10 mm Hg may survive with favorable neurologic outcome.

Diastolic Blood Pressure Threshold During Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Survival Outcomes: A Multicenter Validation Study.

OBJECTIVES: Arterial diastolic blood pressure (DBP) greater than 25 mm Hg in infants and greater than 30 mm Hg in children greater than 1 year old during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was associated with survival to hospital discharge in one prospective study. We sought to validate these potential hemodynamic targets in a larger multicenter cohort. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Eighteen PICUs in the ICU-RESUScitation prospective trial from October 2016 to March 2020. PATIENTS: Children less than or equal to 18 years old with CPR greater than 30 seconds and invasive blood pressure (BP) monitoring during CPR. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Invasive BP waveform data and Utstein-style CPR data were collected, including prearrest patient characteristics, intra-arrest interventions, and outcomes. Primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge, and secondary outcomes were return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome. Multivariable Poisson regression models with robust error estimates evaluated the association of DBP greater than 25 mm Hg in infants and greater than 30 mm Hg in older children with these outcomes. Among 1,129 children with inhospital cardiac arrests, 413 had evaluable DBP data. Overall, 85.5% of the patients attained thresholds of mean DBP greater than or equal to 25 mm Hg in infants and greater than or equal to 30 mm Hg in older children. Initial return of circulation occurred in 91.5% and 25% by placement on extracorporeal membrane oxygenator. Survival to hospital discharge occurred in 58.6%, and survival with favorable neurologic outcome in 55.4% (i.e. 94.6% of survivors had favorable neurologic outcomes). Mean DBP greater than 25 mm Hg for infants and greater than 30 mm Hg for older children was significantly associated with survival to discharge (adjusted relative risk [aRR], 1.32; 1.01-1.74; p = 0.03) and ROSC (aRR, 1.49; 1.12-1.97; p = 0.002) but did not reach significance for survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome (aRR, 1.30; 0.98-1.72; p = 0.051). CONCLUSIONS: These validation data demonstrate that achieving mean DBP during CPR greater than 25 mm Hg for infants and greater than 30 mm Hg for older children is associated with higher rates of survival to hospital discharge, providing potential targets for DBP during CPR.

Identification of post-cardiac arrest blood pressure thresholds associated with outcomes in children: an ICU-Resuscitation study.

INTRODUCTION: Though early hypotension after pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) is associated with inferior outcomes, ideal post-arrest blood pressure (BP) targets have not been established. We aimed to leverage prospectively collected BP data to explore the association of post-arrest BP thresholds with outcomes. We hypothesized that post-arrest systolic and diastolic BP thresholds would be higher than the currently recommended post-cardiopulmonary resuscitation BP targets and would be associated with higher rates of survival to hospital discharge. METHODS: We performed a secondary analysis of prospectively collected BP data from the first 24 h following return of circulation from index IHCA events enrolled in the ICU-RESUScitation trial (NCT02837497). The lowest documented systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) were percentile-adjusted for age, height and sex. Receiver operator characteristic curves and cubic spline analyses controlling for illness category and presence of pre-arrest hypotension were generated exploring the association of lowest post-arrest SBP and DBP with survival to hospital discharge and survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome (Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category of 1-3 or no change from baseline). Optimal cutoffs for post-arrest BP thresholds were based on analysis of receiver operator characteristic curves and spline curves. Logistic regression models accounting for illness category and pre-arrest hypotension examined the associations of these thresholds with outcomes. RESULTS: Among 693 index events with 0-6 h post-arrest BP data, identified thresholds were: SBP > 10th percentile and DBP > 50th percentile for age, sex and height. Fifty-one percent (n = 352) of subjects had lowest SBP above threshold and 50% (n = 346) had lowest DBP above threshold. SBP and DBP above thresholds were each associated with survival to hospital discharge (SBP: aRR 1.21 [95% CI 1.10, 1.33]; DBP: aRR 1.23 [1.12, 1.34]) and survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome (SBP: aRR 1.22 [1.10, 1.35]; DBP: aRR 1.27 [1.15, 1.40]) (all p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Following pediatric IHCA, subjects had higher rates of survival to hospital discharge and survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome when BP targets above a threshold of SBP > 10th percentile for age and DBP > 50th percentile for age during the first 6 h post-arrest.

The Deterioration Risk Index: Developing and Piloting a Machine Learning Algorithm to Reduce Pediatric Inpatient Deterioration.

OBJECTIVES: Develop and deploy a disease cohort-based machine learning algorithm for timely identification of hospitalized pediatric patients at risk for clinical deterioration that outperforms our existing situational awareness program. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Nationwide Children's Hospital, a freestanding, quaternary-care, academic children's hospital in Columbus, OH. PATIENTS: All patients admitted to inpatient units participating in the preexisting situational awareness program from October 20, 2015, to December 31, 2019, excluding patients over 18 years old at admission and those with a neonatal ICU stay during their hospitalization. INTERVENTIONS: We developed separate algorithms for cardiac, malignancy, and general cohorts via lasso-regularized logistic regression. Candidate model predictors included vital signs, supplemental oxygen, nursing assessments, early warning scores, diagnoses, lab results, and situational awareness criteria. Model performance was characterized in clinical terms and compared with our previous situational awareness program based on a novel retrospective validation approach. Simulations with frontline staff, prior to clinical implementation, informed user experience and refined interdisciplinary workflows. Model implementation was piloted on cardiology and hospital medicine units in early 2021. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The Deterioration Risk Index (DRI) was 2.4 times as sensitive as our existing situational awareness program (sensitivities of 53% and 22%, respectively; p < 0.001) and required 2.3 times fewer alarms per detected event (121 DRI alarms per detected event vs 276 for existing program). Notable improvements were a four-fold sensitivity gain for the cardiac diagnostic cohort (73% vs 18%; p < 0.001) and a three-fold gain (81% vs 27%; p < 0.001) for the malignancy diagnostic cohort. Postimplementation pilot results over 18 months revealed a 77% reduction in deterioration events (three events observed vs 13.1 expected, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The etiology of pediatric inpatient deterioration requires acknowledgement of the unique pathophysiology among cardiology and oncology patients. Selection and weighting of diverse candidate risk factors via machine learning can produce a more sensitive early warning system for clinical deterioration. Leveraging preexisting situational awareness platforms and accounting for operational impacts of model implementation are key aspects to successful bedside translation.

Sodium Bicarbonate Use During Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Secondary Analysis of the ICU-RESUScitation Project Trial.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate associations between sodium bicarbonate use and outcomes during pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (p-IHCA). DESIGN: Prespecified secondary analysis of a prospective, multicenter cluster randomized interventional trial. SETTING: Eighteen participating ICUs of the ICU-RESUScitation Project (NCT02837497). PATIENTS: Children less than or equal to 18 years old and greater than or equal to 37 weeks post conceptual age who received chest compressions of any duration from October 2016 to March 2021. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Child and event characteristics, prearrest laboratory values (2-6 hr prior to p-IHCA), pre- and intraarrest hemodynamics, and outcomes were collected. In a propensity score weighted cohort, the relationships between sodium bicarbonate use and outcomes were assessed. The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Secondary outcomes included return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome. Of 1,100 index cardiopulmonary resuscitation events, median age was 0.63 years (interquartile range, 0.19-3.81 yr); 528 (48.0%) received sodium bicarbonate; 773 (70.3%) achieved ROSC; 642 (58.4%) survived to hospital discharge; and 596 (54.2%) survived to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome. Among the weighted cohort, sodium bicarbonate use was associated with lower survival to hospital discharge rate (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.7; 95% CI, 0.54-0.92; p = 0.01) and lower survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome rate (aOR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.53-0.91; p = 0.007). Sodium bicarbonate use was not associated with ROSC (aOR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.62-1.34; p = 0.621). CONCLUSIONS: In this propensity weighted multicenter cohort study of p-IHCA, sodium bicarbonate use was common and associated with lower rates of survival to hospital discharge.

The Temporal Association of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Quality and Outcomes.

OBJECTIVES: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in adaptations to pediatric resuscitation systems of care. The objective of this study was to determine the temporal association between the pandemic and pediatric in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) process of care metrics, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) quality, and patient outcomes. DESIGN: Multicenter retrospective analysis of a dataset comprising observations of IHCA outcomes pre pandemic (March 1, 2019 to February 29, 2020) versus pandemic (March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021). SETTING: Data source was the ICU-RESUScitation Project ("ICU-RESUS;" NCT028374497), a prospective, multicenter, cluster randomized interventional trial. PATIENTS: Children (≤ 18 yr) who received cardiopulmonary resuscitation while admitted to the ICU and were enrolled in ICU-RESUS. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Among 429 IHCAs meeting inclusion criteria, occurrence during the pandemic period was associated with higher frequency of hypotension as the immediate cause of arrest. Cardiac arrest physiology, cardiopulmonary resuscitation quality metrics, and postarrest physiologic and quality of care metrics were similar between the two periods. Survival with favorable neurologic outcome (Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score 1-3 or unchanged from baseline) occurred in 102 of 195 subjects (52%) during the pandemic compared with 140 of 234 (60%) pre pandemic ( p = 0.12). Among survivors, occurrence of IHCA during the pandemic period was associated with a greater increase in Functional Status Scale (FSS) (i.e., worsening) from baseline (1 [0-3] vs 0 [0-2]; p = 0.01). After adjustment for confounders, IHCA survival during the pandemic period was associated with a greater increase in FSS from baseline (+1.19 [95% CI, 0.35-2.04] FSS points; p = 0.006) and higher odds of a new FSS-defined morbidity (adjusted odds ratio, 1.88 [95% CI, 1.03-3.46]; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Using the ICU-RESUS dataset, we found that relative to the year prior, pediatric IHCA during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with greater worsening of functional status and higher odds of new functional morbidity among survivors.

Effect of Physiologic Point-of-Care Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Training on Survival With Favorable Neurologic Outcome in Cardiac Arrest in Pediatric ICUs: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Approximately 40% of children who experience an in-hospital cardiac arrest survive to hospital discharge. Achieving threshold intra-arrest diastolic blood pressure (BP) targets during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and systolic BP targets after the return of circulation may be associated with improved outcomes. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a bundled intervention comprising physiologically focused CPR training at the point of care and structured clinical event debriefings. Design, Setting, and Participants: A parallel, hybrid stepped-wedge, cluster randomized trial (Improving Outcomes from Pediatric Cardiac Arrest-the ICU-Resuscitation Project [ICU-RESUS]) involving 18 pediatric intensive care units (ICUs) from 10 clinical sites in the US. In this hybrid trial, 2 clinical sites were randomized to remain in the intervention group and 2 in the control group for the duration of the study, and 6 were randomized to transition from the control condition to the intervention in a stepped-wedge fashion. The index (first) CPR events of 1129 pediatric ICU patients were included between October 1, 2016, and March 31, 2021, and were followed up to hospital discharge (final follow-up was April 30, 2021). Intervention: During the intervention period (n = 526 patients), a 2-part ICU resuscitation quality improvement bundle was implemented, consisting of CPR training at the point of care on a manikin (48 trainings/unit per month) and structured physiologically focused debriefings of cardiac arrest events (1 debriefing/unit per month). The control period (n = 548 patients) consisted of usual pediatric ICU management of cardiac arrest. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome was survival to hospital discharge with a favorable neurologic outcome defined as a Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score of 1 to 3 or no change from baseline (score range, 1 [normal] to 6 [brain death or death]). The secondary outcome was survival to hospital discharge. Results: Among 1389 cardiac arrests experienced by 1276 patients, 1129 index CPR events (median patient age, 0.6 [IQR, 0.2-3.8] years; 499 girls [44%]) were included and 1074 were analyzed in the primary analysis. There was no significant difference in the primary outcome of survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcomes in the intervention group (53.8%) vs control (52.4%); risk difference (RD), 3.2% (95% CI, -4.6% to 11.4%); adjusted OR, 1.08 (95% CI, 0.76 to 1.53). There was also no significant difference in survival to hospital discharge in the intervention group (58.0%) vs control group (56.8%); RD, 1.6% (95% CI, -6.2% to 9.7%); adjusted OR, 1.03 (95% CI, 0.73 to 1.47). Conclusions and Relevance: In this randomized clinical trial conducted in 18 pediatric intensive care units, a bundled intervention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation training at the point of care and physiologically focused structured debriefing, compared with usual care, did not significantly improve patient survival to hospital discharge with favorable neurologic outcome among pediatric patients who experienced cardiac arrest in the ICU. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02837497.

Burnout in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Fellows.

OBJECTIVES: Assess the overall level of burnout in pediatric critical care medicine fellows and examine factors that may contribute to or protect against its development. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited pediatric critical care medicine fellowship programs across the United States. SUBJECTS: Pediatric critical care medicine fellows and program directors. INTERVENTIONS: Web-based survey that assessed burnout via the Maslach Burnout Inventory, as well as other measures that elicited demographics, sleepiness, social support, perceptions about prior training, relationships with colleagues, and environmental burnout. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: One-hundred eighty-seven fellows and 47 program directors participated. Fellows from 30% of programs were excluded due to lack of program director participation. Average values on each burnout domain for fellows were higher than published values for other medical professionals. Personal accomplishment was greater (lower burnout) among fellows more satisfied with their career choice (ß 9.319; p ≤ 0.0001), spiritual fellows (ß 1.651; p = 0.0286), those with a stress outlet (ß 3.981; p = 0.0226), those comfortable discussing educational topics with faculty (ß 3.078; p = 0.0197), and those comfortable seeking support from their co-fellows (ß 3.762; p = 0.0006). Depersonalization was higher for second year fellows (ß 2.034; p = 0.0482), those with less educational debt (ß -2.920; p = 0.0115), those neutral/dissatisfied with their career choice (ß -6.995; p = 0.0031), those with nursing conflict (ß -3.527; p = 0.0067), those who perceived burnout among co-fellows (ß 1.803; p = 0.0352), and those from ICUs with an increased number of patient beds (ß 5.729; p ≤ 0.0001). Emotional exhaustion was higher among women (ß 2.933; p = 0.0237), those neutral/dissatisfied with their career choice (ß -7.986; p = 0.0353), and those who perceived burnout among co-fellows (ß 5.698; p ≤ 0.0001). Greater sleepiness correlated with higher burnout by means of lower personal accomplishment (r = -1.64; p = 0.0255) and higher emotional exhaustion (r = 0.246; p = 0.0007). Except for tangible support, all other forms of social support showed a small to moderate correlation with lower burnout. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric critical care medicine fellows in the United States are experiencing high levels of burnout, which appears to be influenced by demographics, fellow perceptions of their work environment, and satisfaction with career choice. The exclusion of fellows at 30% of the programs may have over or underestimated the actual level of burnout in these trainees.

Non-invasive estimation of cerebral perfusion pressure using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography in children with severe traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To identify if cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) can be non-invasively estimated by either of two methods calculated using transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD) parameters. DESIGN: Retrospective review of previously prospectively gathered data. SETTING: Pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary care referral hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-three children with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring in place. INTERVENTIONS: TCD evaluation of the middle cerebral arteries was performed daily. CPP at the time of the TCD examination was recorded. For method 1, estimated cerebral perfusion pressure (CPPe) was calculated as: CPPe = MAP × (diastolic flow (Vd)/mean flow (Vm)) + 14. For method 2, critical closing pressure (CrCP) was identified as the intercept point on the x-axis of the linear regression line of blood pressure and flow velocity parameters. CrCP/CPPe was then calculated as MAP-CrCP. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: One hundred eight paired measurements were available. Using patient averaged data, correlation between CPP and CPPe was significant (r = 0.78, p = < 0.001). However, on Bland-Altman plots, bias was 3.7 mmHg with 95% limits of agreement of - 17 to + 25 for CPPe. Using patient averaged data, correlation between CPP and CrCP/CPPe was significant (r = 0.59, p = < 0.001), but again bias was high at 11 mmHg with wide 95% limits of agreement of - 15 to + 38 mmHg. CONCLUSIONS: CPPe and CrCP/CPPe do not have clinical value to estimate the absolute CPP in pediatric patients with TBI.

Transcranial Doppler ultrasound findings in children with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury following abusive head trauma.

PURPOSE: Abusive head trauma (AHT) is the leading cause of fatal head injuries for children under 2 years. The objective was to evaluate, using transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TCD), whether children with AHT have a similar neurovascular response to injury compared with children without AHT. METHODS: Retrospective sub-analysis of previously prospectively acquired data in a pediatric intensive care unit in a level 1 trauma hospital. TCD was performed daily until hospital day 8, discharge, or death. Neurologic outcome was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOS-E Peds) at 1 month from initial injury. RESULTS: Sixty-nine children aged 1 day to 17 years with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury were enrolled. Fifteen children suffered AHT and 54 had no suspicion for AHT. Fifteen children with AHT underwent 80 serial TCD examinations; 54 children without AHT underwent 308 exams. After standardization for age and gender normative values, there was no statistically significant difference in mean cerebral blood flow velocity of the middle cerebral artery (VMCA) between children with and without AHT. There was no difference in the incidence of extreme cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV, greater or less than 2 standard deviations from normative value) between groups. Within the AHT group, there were no statistically significant differences in VMCA between children with a favorable (GOS-E Peds 1-4) versus unfavorable neurologic outcome (GOS-E Peds 5-8). CONCLUSION: Children with AHT have no significant differences in VMCA or percentage of extreme CBFV in the middle cerebral artery compared to with those without AHT.

Cerebrovascular Physiology During Pediatric Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Multicenter Study Using Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography.

OBJECTIVES: To explore changes to expected, age-related transcranial Doppler ultrasound variables during pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. DESIGN: Prospective, observational, multicenter study. SETTING: Tertiary care PICUs. PATIENTS: Children 1 day to 18 years old requiring veno arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. METHODS: Participants underwent daily transcranial Doppler ultrasound measurement of bilateral middle cerebral artery flow velocities. Acute neurologic injury was diagnosed if seizures, cerebral hemorrhage, or diffuse cerebral ischemia was detected. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Fifty-two children were enrolled and analyzed. In the 44 children without acute neurologic injury, there was a significant reduction in systolic flow velocity and mean flow velocity compared with predicted values over time (F [8, 434] = 60.44; p ≤ 0.0001, and F [8, 434] = 17.61; p ≤ 0.0001). Middle cerebral artery systolic flow velocity was lower than predicted on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation days 1-5, and mean flow velocity was lower than predicted on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation days 1-3. In the six infants less than 90 days old suffering diffuse cerebral ischemia, middle cerebral artery systolic flow velocity, mean flow velocity, and diastolic flow velocity from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation days 1-9 were not significantly different when compared with children of similar age in the cohort that did not suffer acute neurologic injury (systolic flow velocity F [8, 52] = 0.6659; p = 0.07 and diastolic flow velocity F [8, 52] = 1.4; p = 0.21 and mean flow velocity F [8, 52] = 1.93; p = 0.07). Pulsatility index was higher in these infants over time than children of similar age in the cohort on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation that did not suffer acute neurologic injury (F [8, 52] = 3.1; p = 0.006). No patient in the study experienced cerebral hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Flow velocities in the middle cerebral arteries of children requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation are significantly lower than published normative values for critically ill, mechanically ventilated, sedated children. Significant differences in measured systolic flow velocity, diastolic flow velocity, and mean flow velocity were not identified in children suffering ischemic injury compared with those who did not. However, increased pulsatility index may be a marker for ischemic injury in young infants on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

Relationships between cerebral flow velocities and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine relationships between cerebral blood flow and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). METHODS: Children with TBI, a Glasgow Coma Score of 8-12, and abnormal brain imaging were enrolled prospectively. Cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) was assessed within 24 h of trauma and daily thereafter through death, discharge, or hospital day 8, whichever came first. Twelve months from injury, participants completed neurodevelopmental testing. RESULTS: Sixty-nine patients were enrolled. Low flow velocities (< 2 SD below age/gender normal) were found in 6% (n = 4). No patient with a single low CBFV measurement had a good neurologic outcome (Pediatric Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS-E Peds) ≤ 4)). Normal flow velocities (± 2 SD around age/gender normal) were seen in 43% of participants (n = 30). High flow velocities (> 2 SD above age and gender normal with a Lindegaard ratio (LR) < 3) were identified in 23% of children (n = 16), and vasospasm (> 2 SD above age/gender normal with LR ≥ 3) was identified in 28% (n = 19). Children with good outcomes based on GOS-E Peds scoring were more likely to have had normal flow velocity than other flow patterns. No other differences in neurodevelopmental outcomes were noted. CONCLUSIONS: Individual patient responses to TBI in terms of CBFV alterations were heterogeneous. Low flow was uniformly associated with a poor outcome. Patients with good outcomes were more likely to have normal flow. This suggests CBFV may serve as a prognostic indicator in children with TBI. Future studies are needed to determine if aberrant CBFVs are also a therapeutic target.

Defining leadership competencies for pediatric critical care fellows: Results of a national needs assessment.

INTRODUCTION: Physicians in training, including those in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, must develop clinical leadership skills in preparation to lead multidisciplinary teams during their careers. This study seeks to identify multidisciplinary perceptions of leadership skills important for Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellows to attain prior to fellowship completion. METHODS: We performed a multi-institutional survey of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine attendings, fellows, and nurses. Subjects were asked to rate importance of 59 leadership skills, behaviors, and attitudes for Pediatric Critical Care practitioners and to identify whether these skills should be achieved before completing fellowship. Skills with the highest ratings by respondents were deemed essential. RESULTS: Five hundred and eighteen subjects completed the survey. Of 59 items, only one item ("displays honesty and integrity") was considered essential by all respondents. When analyzed by discipline, nurses identified 21 behaviors essential, fellows 3, and attendings 1 (p < 0.05). Nurses differed (p < 0.05) from attendings in their opinion of importance in 64% (38/59) of skills. CONCLUSIONS: Despite significant variability among Pediatric Critical Care attendings, fellows, and nurses in identifying which clinical leadership competencies are important for graduating Pediatric Critical Care fellows, they place the highest importance on skills in self-management and self-awareness. Leadership skills identified as most important may guide the development of interventions to improve trainee education and interprofessional care.

The epidemiology of vasospasm in children with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To gain a description of the prevalence and time course of vasospasm in children suffering moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury. DESIGN: A prospective, observational study was performed. Children with a diagnosis of traumatic brain injury, a Glasgow Coma Score less than or equal to 12, and abnormal head imaging were enrolled. Transcranial Doppler ultrasound was performed to identify and follow vasospasm. Diagnostic criteria included flow velocity elevation more than or equal to 2 sd above age and gender normal values for the middle cerebral and basilar arteries. Additional criteria required for vasospasm diagnosis in the middle cerebral artery was a ratio of flow in the middle cerebral artery to extracranial internal carotid artery more than or equal to 3. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-nine children were included. The prevalence of middle cerebral artery vasospasm in children with moderate traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Score, 9-12) was 8.5% and was 33.5% in those with severe traumatic brain injury (Glasgow Coma Score, ≤ 8). The prevalence of basilar artery vasospasm in children with moderate traumatic brain injury was 3% and with severe traumatic brain injury was 21%. Mean time to onset of vasospasm was 4 days (± 2 d) in the middle cerebral arteries and 5 days (± 2.5 d) in the basilar artery. Mean duration of vasospasm in the middle cerebral artery was 2 days (± 2 d) and 1.5 days (± 1 d) in the basilar artery. Children in whom vasospasm developed were more likely to have been involved in motor vehicle accidents, had higher Injury Severity Scores, had fever at admission, and had lower Glasgow Coma Score scores. Good neurologic outcome (Glasgow Outcome Score Extended Pediatric version of ≥ 4) at 1 month from injury was seen in 76% of those with moderate traumatic brain injury without vasospasm and in 40% of those with vasospasm. In those with severe traumatic brain injury, good neurologic outcome was seen in 29% of those children without vasospasm and in 15% of those with vasospasm. CONCLUSIONS: Vasospasm occurs in a sizeable number of children with moderate and severe traumatic brain injury. Children in whom vasospasm developed were more likely to have been involved in a motor vehicle accident, had higher Injury Severity Scores, had fever at admission, and had lower Glasgow Coma scores than in those whom vasospasm did not develop. Based on these findings, we recommend aggressive screening for posttraumatic vasospasm in these patients. Future studies should establish the relationship between vasospasm and long-term functional outcomes and should also evaluate potential preventative or therapeutic options for vasospasm in these children.

Smartphone-Based Virtual and Augmented Reality Implicit Association Training (VARIAT) for Reducing Implicit Biases Toward Patients Among Health Care Providers: App Development and Pilot Testing.

Background: Implicit bias is as prevalent among health care professionals as among the wider population and is significantly associated with lower health care quality. Objective: The study goal was to develop and evaluate the preliminary efficacy of an innovative mobile app, VARIAT (Virtual and Augmented Reality Implicit Association Training), to reduce implicit biases among Medicaid providers. Methods: An interdisciplinary team developed 2 interactive case-based training modules for Medicaid providers focused on implicit bias related to race and socioeconomic status (SES) and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), respectively. The simulations combine experiential learning, facilitated debriefing, and game-based educational strategies. Medicaid providers (n=18) participated in this pilot study. Outcomes were measured on 3 domains: training reactions, affective knowledge, and skill-based knowledge related to implicit biases in race/SES or SOGI. Results: Participants reported high relevance of training to their job for both the race/SES module (mean score 4.75, SD 0.45) and SOGI module (mean score 4.67, SD 0.50). Significant improvement in skill-based knowledge for minimizing health disparities for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer patients was found after training (Cohen d=0.72; 95% CI -1.38 to -0.04). Conclusions: This study developed an innovative smartphone-based implicit bias training program for Medicaid providers and conducted a pilot evaluation on the user experience and preliminary efficacy. Preliminary evidence showed positive satisfaction and preliminary efficacy of the intervention.

Validation of a Novel Mobile Application for Assessing Pediatric Tracheostomy Emergency Simulations.

Objective: Pediatric tracheostomy is associated with high morbidity and mortality, yet clinician knowledge and quality of tracheostomy care may vary widely. In situ simulation is effective at detecting and mitigating related latent safety threats, but evaluation via retrospective video review has disadvantages (eg, delayed analysis, and potential data loss). We evaluated whether a novel mobile application is accurate and reliable for assessment of in situ tracheostomy emergency simulations. Methods: A novel mobile application was developed for assessment of tracheostomy emergency in situ simulation team performance. After 1.25 hours of training, 6 raters scored 10 tracheostomy emergency simulation videos for the occurrence and timing of 12 critical steps. To assess accuracy, rater scores were compared to a reference standard to determine agreement for occurrence or absence of critical steps and a timestamp within ±5 seconds. Interrater reliability was determined through Cohen's and Fleiss' kappa and intraclass correlation coefficient. Results: Raters had 86.0% agreement with the reference standard when considering step occurrence and timing, and 92.8% agreement when considering only occurrence. The average timestamp difference from the reference standard was 1.3 ± 18.5 seconds. Overall interrater reliability was almost perfect for both step occurrence (Fleiss' kappa of 0.81) and timing of step (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.99). Discussion: Using our novel mobile application, raters with minimal training accurately and reliably assessed videos of tracheostomy emergency simulations and identified areas for future refinement. Implications for Practice: With refinements, this innovative mobile application is an effective tool for real-time data capture of time-critical steps in in situ tracheostomy emergency simulations.

Educational and Patient Care Impacts of In Situ Simulation in Healthcare: A Systematic Review.

ABSTRACT: This systematic review was performed to assess the effectiveness of in situ simulation education. We searched databases including MEDLINE and Embase for studies comparing in situ simulation with other educational approaches. Two reviewers screened articles and extracted information. Sixty-two articles met inclusion criteria, of which 24 were synthesized quantitatively using random effects meta-analysis. When compared with current educational practices alone, the addition of in situ simulation to these practices was associated with small improvements in clinical outcomes, including mortality [odds ratio, 0.66; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.55 to 0.78], care metrics (standardized mean difference, -0.34; 95% CI, -0.45 to -0.21), and nontechnical skills (standardized mean difference, -0.52; 95% CI, -0.99 to -0.05). Comparisons between in situ and traditional simulation showed mixed learner preference and knowledge improvement between groups, while technical skills showed improvement attributable to in situ simulation. In summary, available evidence suggests that adding in situ simulation to current educational practices may improve patient mortality and morbidity.

Association of Pediatric Postcardiac Arrest Ventilation and Oxygenation with Survival Outcomes.

Rationale: Adult and pediatric studies provide conflicting data regarding whether post-cardiac arrest hypoxemia, hyperoxemia, hypercapnia, and/or hypocapnia are associated with worse outcomes. Objectives: We sought to determine whether postarrest hypoxemia or postarrest hyperoxemia is associated with lower rates of survival to hospital discharge, compared with postarrest normoxemia, and whether postarrest hypocapnia or hypercapnia is associated with lower rates of survival, compared with postarrest normocapnia. Methods: An embedded prospective observational study during a multicenter interventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation trial was conducted from 2016 to 2021. Patients ⩽18 years old and with a corrected gestational age of ≥37 weeks who received chest compressions for cardiac arrest in one of the 18 intensive care units were included. Exposures during the first 24 hours postarrest were hypoxemia, hyperoxemia, or normoxemia-defined as lowest arterial oxygen tension/pressure (PaO2) <60 mm Hg, highest PaO2 ⩾200 mm Hg, or every PaO2 60-199 mm Hg, respectively-and hypocapnia, hypercapnia, or normocapnia, defined as lowest arterial carbon dioxide tension/pressure (PaCO2) <30 mm Hg, highest PaCO2 ⩾50 mm Hg, or every PaCO2 30-49 mm Hg, respectively. Associations of oxygenation and carbon dioxide group with survival to hospital discharge were assessed using Poisson regression with robust error estimates. Results: The hypoxemia group was less likely to survive to hospital discharge, compared with the normoxemia group (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 0.71; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.58-0.87), whereas survival in the hyperoxemia group did not differ from that in the normoxemia group (aRR = 1.0; 95% CI = 0.87-1.15). The hypercapnia group was less likely to survive to hospital discharge, compared with the normocapnia group (aRR = 0.74; 95% CI = 0.64-0.84), whereas survival in the hypocapnia group did not differ from that in the normocapnia group (aRR = 0.91; 95% CI = 0.74-1.12). Conclusions: Postarrest hypoxemia and hypercapnia were each associated with lower rates of survival to hospital discharge.