Dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) is necessary to minimize the risk of periprocedural thromboembolic complications associated with aneurysm embolization using pipeline embolization device (PED). We ...aimed to assess the impact of platelet function testing (PFT) on reducing periprocedural thromboembolic complications associated with PED flow diversion in patients receiving aspirin and clopidogrel.
Patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms requiring PED flow diversion were identified from 13 centers for retrospective evaluation. Clinical variables including the results of PFT before treatment, periprocedural DAPT regimen, and intracranial complications occurring within 72 h of embolization were identified. Complication rates were compared between PFT and non-PFT groups. Differences between groups were tested for statistical significance using the Wilcoxon rank sum, Fisher exact, or χ 2 tests. A P -value <.05 was statistically significant.
580 patients underwent PED embolization with 262 patients dichotomized to the PFT group and 318 patients to the non-PFT group. 13.7% of PFT group patients were clopidogrel nonresponders requiring changes in their pre-embolization DAPT regimen. Five percentage of PFT group 2.8%, 8.5% patients experienced thromboembolic complications vs 1.6% of patients in the non-PFT group 0.6%, 3.8% ( P = .019). Two (15.4%) PFT group patients with thromboembolic complications experienced permanent neurological disability vs 4 (80%) non-PFT group patients. 3.7% of PFT group patients 1.5%, 8.2% and 3.5% 1.8%, 6.3% of non-PFT group patients experienced hemorrhagic intracranial complications ( P > .9).
Preprocedural PFT before PED treatment of intracranial aneurysms in patients premedicated with an aspirin and clopidogrel DAPT regimen may not be necessary to significantly reduce the risk of procedure-related intracranial complications.
The use of peritoneal catheters for prophylactic dialysis or drainage to prevent fluid overload after neonatal cardiac surgery is common in some centres; however, the multi-centre variability and ...details of peritoneal catheter use are not well described.
Twenty-two-centre NEonatal and Pediatric Heart Renal Outcomes Network (NEPHRON) study to describe multi-centre peritoneal catheter use after STAT category 3-5 neonatal cardiac surgery using cardiopulmonary bypass. Patient characteristics and acute kidney injury/fluid outcomes for six post-operative days are described among three cohorts: peritoneal catheter with dialysis, peritoneal catheter with passive drainage, and no peritoneal catheter.
Of 1490 neonates, 471 (32%) had an intraoperative peritoneal catheter placed; 177 (12%) received prophylactic dialysis and 294 (20%) received passive drainage. Sixteen (73%) centres used peritoneal catheter at some frequency, including six centres in >50% of neonates. Four centres utilised prophylactic peritoneal dialysis. Time to post-operative dialysis initiation was 3 hours 1, 5 with the duration of 56 hours 37, 90; passive drainage cohort drained for 92 hours 64, 163. Peritoneal catheter were more common among patients receiving pre-operative mechanical ventilation, single ventricle physiology, and higher complexity surgery. There was no association with adverse events. Serum creatinine and daily fluid balance were not clinically different on any post-operative day. Mortality was similar.
In neonates undergoing complex cardiac surgery, peritoneal catheter use is not rare, with substantial variability among centres. Peritoneal catheters are used more commonly with higher surgical complexity. Adverse event rates, including mortality, are not different with peritoneal catheter use. Fluid overload and creatinine-based acute kidney injury rates are not different in peritoneal catheter cohorts.
Determine incidence of preoperative adrenal insufficiency in neonates >35 weeks gestation with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiothoracic surgery with bypass and effects of prophylactic ...methylprednisolone on postoperative hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function and hemodynamic stability.
Prospective observational study in 36 neonates with preoperative adrenocorticotrophic hormone stimulation tests and serial total cortisol and adrenocorticotrophic hormone measurements before and after surgery. Data analyses: analysis of variance and regression.
Baseline circulating adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol were unchanged 4-20 days postnatal (P > 0.1); however, cortisol levels rose with increasing adrenocorticotrophic hormone, P = 0.02. Ten neonates (29%) demonstrated preoperative adrenal insufficiency (∆cortisol ≤9 µg/dl); one had postoperative hemodynamic instability. Growth-restricted neonates had lower baseline cortisol, but normal stimulation tests and responded well to surgical stresses. Seventy-five percent of neonates receiving perioperative methylprednisolone demonstrated postoperative hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal inhibition.
Adrenal insufficiency appears common in neonates >35 weeks gestation with congenital heart disease, but did not contribute to postoperative hemodynamic instability despite hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal inhibition.
Abstract Aim To describe the 1-year neurobehavioral outcome of survivors of cardiac arrest secondary to drowning, compared with other respiratory etiologies, in children enrolled in the Therapeutic ...Hypothermia after Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Out-of-Hospital (THAPCA-OH) trial. Methods Exploratory analysis of survivors (ages 1–18 years) who received chest compressions for ≥2 min, were comatose, and required mechanical ventilation after return of circulation (ROC). Participants recruited from 27 pediatric intensive care units in North America received targeted temperature management therapeutic hypothermia (33 °C) or therapeutic normothermia (36.8 °C) within 6 h of ROC. Neurobehavioral outcomes included 1-year Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (VABS-II) total and domain scores and age-appropriate cognitive performance measures (Mullen Scales of Early Learning or Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence). Results Sixty-six children with a respiratory etiology of cardiac arrest survived for 1-year; 60/66 had broadly normal premorbid functioning (VABS-II ≥ 70). Follow up was obtained on 59/60 (30 with drowning etiology). VABS-II composite and domain scores declined significantly from premorbid scores in drowning and non-drowning groups (p < 0.001), although declines were less pronounced for the drowning group. Seventy-two percent of children had well below average cognitive functioning at 1-year. Younger age, fewer doses of epinephrine, and drowning etiology were associated with better VABS-II composite scores. Demographic variables and treatment with hypothermia did not influence neurobehavioral outcomes. Conclusions Risks for poor neurobehavioral outcomes were high for children who were comatose after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to respiratory etiologies; survivors of drowning had better outcomes than those with other respiratory etiologies.
Patterns of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in infants and children suggest vulnerability in regions of white matter development, and injured patients develop defects in myelination resulting in ...cerebral palsy and motor deficits. Reperfusion exacerbates the oxidative stress that occurs after such injuries and may impair recovery. Resuscitation after hypoxic-ischemic injury is routinely performed using 100% oxygen, and this practice may increase the oxidative stress that occurs during reperfusion and further damage an already compromised brain. We show that brief exposure (30 mins) to 100% oxygen during reperfusion worsens the histologic injury in young mice after unilateral brain hypoxia—ischemia, causes an accumulation of the oxidative metabolite nitrotyrosine, and depletes preoligodendrocyte glial progenitors present in the cortex. This damage can be reversed with administration of the antioxidant ebselen, a glutathione peroxidase mimetic. Moreover, mice recovered in 100% oxygen have a more disrupted pattern of myelination and develop a static motor deficit that mimics cerebral palsy and manifests itself by significantly worse performance on wire hang and rotorod motor testing. We conclude that exposure to 100% oxygen during reperfusion after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury increases secondary neural injury, depletes developing glial progenitors, interferes with myelination, and ultimately impairs functional recovery.
This study aimed to evaluate the use of tolvaptan in a consecutive series of pediatric patients with heart failure. Patients 18 years of age or younger with heart failure prescribed tolvaptan between ...January 2009 and October 2011 were retrospectively identified at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. Laboratory parameters, urine output, fluid balance, and concurrent medications were recorded at baseline and at specified intervals after a single dose of tolvaptan. The 28 patients in the study had a median age of 2 years (range 1 month–18 years). The median tolvaptan dose administered was 0.3 mg/kg (range 0.1–1.3 mg/kg). The study patients had a median baseline serum sodium concentration of 127 mmol/L, and the increases in sodium were 2.5 mmol/L at 12 h, 5 mmol/L at 24 h, 4 mmol/L at 48 h, and 5 mmol/L at 72 h (all
p
< 0.001). Urine output was increased at 24 h (
p
< 0.001) and 48 h (
p
= 0.03), and fluid balance changes were significantly different at 24 h (
p
= 0.004). The changes in potassium, blood urea nitrogen, and serum creatinine were not significant at any interval. When controlling for traditional diuretic therapy, increases in serum sodium concentration and urine output remained statistically significant. A single dose of tolvaptan increased serum sodium concentrations for the majority in this small series of pediatric patients with heart failure. These results suggest that tolvaptan can be safely and effectively administered to pediatric patients. Prospective, randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its use further.
An obstacle representation of a graph
G
is a drawing of
G
in the plane with straight-line edges, together with a set of polygons (respectively, convex polygons) called obstacles, such that an edge ...exists in
G
if and only if it does not intersect an obstacle. The obstacle number (convex obstacle number) of
G
is the smallest number of obstacles (convex obstacles) in any obstacle representation of
G
. In this paper, we identify families of graphs with obstacle number 1 and construct graphs with arbitrarily large obstacle number (convex obstacle number). We prove that a graph has an obstacle representation with a single convex
k
-gon if and only if it is a circular arc graph with clique covering number at most
k
in which no two arcs cover the host circle. We also prove independently that a graph has an obstacle representation with a single segment obstacle if and only if it is the complement of an interval bigraph.
Brain injury is the leading cause of death in pediatric intensive care units, and improvements in therapy and in understanding the pathogenesis are urgently needed. This review presents recent ...advances in the understanding of neuroprotective therapy and brain-specific monitoring for critically ill pediatric patients.
Two neuroprotective strategies are becoming increasingly accepted as they are applied to different mechanisms of brain injury. The rapid application of hypothermia and avoidance of hyperoxia after cardiac arrest and other brain injuries are each being more commonly used as both human and animal data advocating for these approaches accumulate. In addition, more advanced and noninvasive technologies are emerging that are designed to serve as surrogates for brain function and may be used to help predict outcome. Near-infrared spectroscopy is one such commonly used technique that has prompted many studies to understand how to incorporate it into practice.
Protection of the pediatric brain from both a primary insult and the common subsequent secondary injury is essential for improving long-term neurologic outcomes. Whereas monitoring technology is being constantly modified, it must be proven efficacious in order to understand the utility of new and presumed neuroprotective therapies like hypothermia and avoidance of hyperoxia.
To describe neurobehavioral outcomes and investigate factors associated with survival and survival with good neurobehavioral outcome 1 year after in-hospital cardiac arrest for children who received ...extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Secondary analysis of the Therapeutic Hypothermia after Pediatric Cardiac Arrest In-Hospital trial.
Thirty-seven PICUs in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Children (n = 147) resuscitated with extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation following in-hospital cardiac arrest.
Neurobehavioral status was assessed using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, at prearrest baseline and 12 months postarrest. Norms for Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, are 100 (mean) ± 15 (SD). Higher scores indicate better functioning. Outcomes included 12-month survival, 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, decreased by less than or equal to 15 points from baseline, and 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, greater than or equal to 70.
Of 147 children receiving extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, 125 (85.0%) had a preexisting cardiac condition, 75 (51.0%) were postcardiac surgery, and 84 (57.1%) were less than 1 year old. Duration of chest compressions was greater than 30 minutes for 114 (77.5%). Sixty-one (41.5%) survived to 12 months, 32 (22.1%) survived to 12 months with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, decreased by less than or equal to 15 points from baseline, and 39 (30.5%) survived to 12 months with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, greater than or equal to 70. On multivariable analyses, open-chest cardiac massage was independently associated with greater 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, decreased by less than or equal to 15 points and greater 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, greater than or equal to 70. Higher minimum postarrest lactate and preexisting gastrointestinal conditions were independently associated with lower 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, decreased by less than or equal to 15 points and lower 12-month survival with Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition, greater than or equal to 70.
About one third of children survived with good neurobehavioral outcome 1 year after receiving extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation for in-hospital arrest. Open-chest cardiac massage and minimum postarrest lactate were associated with survival with good neurobehavioral outcome at 1 year.