Implications of Atrial-Level Shunting by Echocardiography in Newborns with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Objective: To determine whether postnatal echocardiographic indices of left ventricular (LV) size and function are associated with atrial-level shunt direction and investigate whether a relationship exists between LV function and LV size in patients with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).

Study Design: This was a single-center retrospective study of 51 neonates with CDH evaluated at Children's Hospital Colorado. Initial postnatal echocardiograms were analyzed for cardiac dimensions, valvar integrity, cardiac time intervals, and biventricular function.

Right atrial function in pediatric heart transplant patients by echocardiographic strain measurements.

Background: CAV is a major cause of mortality in PHTx patients. Research on echocardiographic indices to detect CAV focuses primarily on ventricular function and less is known about RAF. Thus, we primarily sought to evaluate RAF in PHTx patients with CAV.

Circulating biomarkers of left ventricular hypertrophy in pediatric coarctation of the aorta.

Objective: Patients undergoing surgical repair of aortic coarctation have a 50% risk of pathologic left ventricular remodeling (increased left ventricular mass or relative wall thickness). Endothelin 1, ST2, galectin 3, norepinephrine and B-natriuretic peptide are biomarkers that have been associated with pathologic LV change in adult populations but their predictive value following pediatric coarctation repair are not known.

Hypothesis: Biomarker levels at coarctation repair will predict persistent left ventricular remodeling at 1-year follow up.

Three-dimensional echocardiographic evaluation of Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve in a patient with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

We report three-dimensional imaging of a rare finding of Ebstein's anomaly of the tricuspid valve in a patient with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which has been previously reported only by two-dimensional echocardiography. A fetal echocardiogram was performed at 19 weeks that showed a moderately hypoplastic left ventricle, severely hypoplastic mitral valve, a severely hypoplastic aortic valve, and a dysplastic tricuspid valve. Post Caesarean delivery at 40 weeks of gestation, a transthoracic echocardiogram confirmed the findings seen on the fetal echocardiogram.

Endothelin-1 activation in pediatric patients undergoing surgical coarctation of the aorta repair.

Aim: To determine endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentration before and after surgical coarctectomy and evaluate its association with left ventricular geometric change.

Methods: A prospective, cohort study of 24 patients aged 2 d to 10 years with coarctation of the aorta undergoing surgical repair. A sub-cohort of patients with age < 1 mo was classified as "neonates".

Right Ventricular Tissue Doppler Myocardial Performance Index in Children with Pulmonary Hypertension: Relation to Invasive Hemodynamics.

Right ventricular (RV) failure is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Myocardial performance index measured by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI-MPI) has been useful in assessing RV dysfunction in adults with PH. However, TDI-MPI as a marker for RV dysfunction or disease severity has not been evaluated in pediatric PH.

Three-dimensional Echocardiography of Right Ventricular Function Correlates with Severity of Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: Right ventricular function and biomarkers of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and N-Terminal pro-BNP (NT pro-BNP) are used to determine the severity of right ventricular failure and outcomes from pulmonary hypertension. Real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE) is a novel quantitative measure of the right ventricle and decreases the geometric assumptions from conventional two-dimensional echocardiography (2DE). We correlated right ventricular functional measures using 2DE and single-beat 3DE with biomarkers and hemodynamics to determine the severity of pediatric pulmonary hypertension.

The professional appearance of registered nurses: an integrative review of peer-refereed studies.

Background: There is a paucity of research examining the impact of standardized uniform style and color for registered nurses (RNs).

Objective: The aim of this study was to appraise published peer-refereed studies on the effect of a standardized uniform style and color for RNs.

Methods: Seven peer-refereed studies exploring standardized uniforms for RNs were identified.