Thoracic Fluid Content (TFC) Measurement Using Impedance Cardiography Predicts Outcomes in Critically Ill Children.

Conventional methods of fluid assessment in critically ill children are difficult and/or inaccurate. Impedance cardiography has capability of measuring thoracic fluid content (TFC). There is an insufficient literature reporting correlation between TFC and conventional methods of fluid balance and whether TFC predicts outcomes in critically ill children.

Propofol Infusion Is a Feasible Bridge to Extubation in General Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

The current literature on propofol infusion as a bridge to extubation in critically ill children is limited to children with burns and congenital cardiac disease. We hypothesize that propofol infusion is a feasible bridge to extubation in mechanically ventilated, critically ill children. Retrospective chart review.

Hyperammonemic Encephalopathy due to Infection in an Immunocompromised Child.

Idiopathic hyperammonemia is a rare complication with a high mortality rate that occurs in persons with hematologic malignancies or hematopoietic stem cell or solid organ transplant. Patients present with encephalopathy and hyperammonemia in the absence of liver disease or inborn errors of metabolism. Several etiologies have been proposed, including chemotherapeutic agents, medications, and a catabolic state with an elevated nitrogen load in the setting of acute illness.

Hands-On Defibrillation Skills of Pediatric Acute Care Providers During a Simulated Ventricular Fibrillation Cardiac Arrest Scenario.

Timely defibrillation in ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest (VFCA) is associated with good outcome. While defibrillation skills of pediatric providers have been reported to be poor, the factors related to poor hands-on defibrillation skills of pediatric providers are largely unknown. The aim of our study was to evaluate delay in individual steps of the defibrillation and human and non-human factors associated with poor hands-on defibrillation skills among pediatric acute care providers during a simulated VFCA scenario.

Neurologic Injury Associated with Rewarming from Hypothermia: Is Mild Hypothermia on Bypass Better than Deep Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest?

Many known risk factors for adverse cardiovascular and neurological outcomes in children with congenital heart defects (CHD) are not modifiable; however, the temperature and blood flow during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), are two risk factors, which may be altered in an attempt to improve long-term neurological outcomes. Deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, traditionally used for aortic arch repair, has been associated with short-term and long-term neurologic sequelae. Therefore, there is a rising interest in using moderate hypothermia with selective antegrade cerebral blood flow on CPB during aortic arch repair.