Current state of quality improvement research across cardiac ICUs: a Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society (PCICS) survey.

Background: Outcomes for children with heart disease improved over the past decades. Quality improvement (QI) research in paediatric cardiac critical care is a key driver of improvement. The availability and variability of QI research across the field is unknown.

Hospital variation in post-operative cardiac extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use and relationship to post-operative mortality.

Objective: It is unclear how extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use varies across paediatric cardiac surgical programmes and how it relates to post-operative mortality. We aimed to determine hospital-level variation in post-operative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation use and its association with case-mix adjusted mortality.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of 37 hospitals contributing to the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium clinical registry from 1 August 2014 to 31 December 2019.

Outcomes in Children Who Undergo Postcardiotomy Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation: A Report From the STS-CHSD.

Background: Children who undergo cardiac surgery may require postcardiotomy extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Although morbidities are considerable, our understanding of outcome determinants is limited. We evaluated associations between patient and perioperative factors with outcomes.

Racial and Ethnic Variation in ECMO Utilization and Outcomes in Pediatric Cardiac ICU Patients.

Background: Previous studies have reported racial disparities in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) utilization in pediatric cardiac patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine if there was racial/ethnic variation in ECMO utilization and, if so, whether mortality was mediated by differences in ECMO utilization.

Methods: This is a multicenter, retrospective cohort study of the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium clinical registry.

Epinephrine dosing strategies during pediatric extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation reveal novel impacts on survival: A multicenter study utilizing time-stamped epinephrine dosing records.

Objectives: To describe epinephrine dosing distribution using time-stamped data and assess the impact of dosing strategy on survival after ECPR in children.

Methods: This was a retrospective study at five pediatric hospitals of children <18 years with an in-hospital ECPR event. Mean number of epinephrine doses was calculated for each 10-minute CPR interval and compared between survivors and non-survivors.

Pediatric Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: This systematic review aims to summarize the body of available literature on pediatric extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation in order to delineate current utilization, practices, and outcomes, while highlighting gaps in current knowledge.

Data Sources: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases.

A National Survey on Interhospital Transport of Children in Cardiac Arrest.

Objectives: To describe the U.S. experience with interhospital transport of children in cardiac arrest undergoing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Variation in Case-Mix Adjusted Unplanned Pediatric Cardiac ICU Readmission Rates.

Objectives: To identify modifiable factors leading to unplanned readmission and characterize differences in adjusted unplanned readmission rates across hospitals.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using prospectively collected clinical registry data SETTING:: Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium clinical registry.

Patients: Patients admitted to a pediatric cardiac ICU at Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium hospitals.

Characteristics, Risk Factors, and Outcomes of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Use in Pediatric Cardiac ICUs: A Report From the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium Registry.

Objectives: Cardiopulmonary failure in children with cardiac disease differs from the general pediatric critical care population, yet the epidemiology of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support in cardiac ICUs has not been described. We aimed to characterize extracorporeal membrane oxygenation utilization and outcomes across surgical and medical patients in pediatric cardiac ICUs.

Design: Retrospective analysis of the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium registry to describe extracorporeal membrane oxygenation frequency and outcomes.

Unplanned Readmission to the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit: Prevalence, Outcomes, and Risk Factors.

Background: Factors leading to cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) readmission and the impact on mortality have yet to be well delineated. We sought to define the prevalence and outcome for unscheduled CICU readmission. Secondary objectives were to identify indications and risk factors for unscheduled CICU readmission.

Associations Between Day of Admission and Day of Surgery on Outcome and Resource Utilization in Infants With Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome Who Underwent Stage I Palliation (from the Single Ventricle Reconstruction Trial).

Newborns with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other single right ventricular variants require substantial health care resources. Weekend acute care has been associated with worse outcomes and increased resource use in other populations but has not been studied in patients with single ventricle. Subjects of the Single Ventricle Reconstruction trial were classified by whether they had a weekend admission and by day of the week of Norwood procedure.

Glial fibrillary acidic protein in children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

Objective: To determine whether blood levels of the brain-specific biomarker glial fibrillary acidic protein rise during cardiopulmonary bypass for repair of congenital heart disease.

Methods: This is a prospective observational pilot study to characterise the blood levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein during bypass. Children <21 years of age undergoing bypass for congenital heart disease at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital were enrolled.

Diagnostic radiation exposure in pediatric trauma patients.

Background: The amount of imaging studies performed for disease diagnosis has been rapidly increasing. We examined the amount of radiation exposure that pediatric trauma patients receive because they are an at-risk population. Our hypothesis was that pediatric trauma patients are exposed to high levels of radiation during a single hospital visit.

Percutaneous closure of patent ductus arteriosus: a multiinstitutional registry comparing multiple devices.

Background: There are no guidelines and multiple devices available now for closure of PDA.

Objective: We sought to determine which devices are used and their outcomes.

Methods: Prospectively collected data on closure of PDA at 12 US catheterization labs was entered into the MAGIC data registry between November 2005 and September 2008.