The impact of a care bundle with an emphasis on hemodynamic assessment on the short-term outcomes in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

Objective: To evaluate the short-term outcomes of implementing a care bundle emphasizing frequent hemodynamic assessments by echocardiography in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH).

Study Design: This was a retrospective cohort study of infants with CDH admitted to a quaternary perinatal unit from January 2013 to March 2021. The primary composite outcome was defined as mortality or use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or need for respiratory support at discharge.

Fluid overload in newborns undergoing abdominal surgery: a retrospective study.

Background: Fluid management in newborns undergoing surgery can be challenging due to difficulties in accurately assessing volume status in context of high fluid needs perioperatively and postoperative third-space fluid loss. Fluid overload can be associated with an increase in neonatal morbidity and mortality.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the burden of fluid overload and to evaluate their associations with adverse effects among infants undergoing abdominal surgery at a tertiary perinatal center.

Targeted neonatal echocardiography for patent ductus arteriosus in neonates reduces the surgical ligation rate without affecting healthcare outcomes.

Background: Surgical ligation of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) can be associated with long-term morbidity and adverse outcomes in neonates. Targeted neonatal echocardiography (TNE) has been increasingly used to improve the hemodynamic management. We aimed to evaluate the preoperative assessment impacts of the hemodynamic significance of PDA using TNE on PDA ligation rates and neonatal outcomes.

Reduced Physical Activity During COVID-19 in Children With Congenital Heart Disease: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was associated with a reduction in physical activity in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) in early 2020. Given the increased cardiovascular risk of this population, optimizing cardiovascular health behaviour is important. The aim of the study is to determine how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted longitudinal physical activity measures in children with CHD.

Fasting increases microbiome-based colonization resistance and reduces host inflammatory responses during an enteric bacterial infection.

Reducing food intake is a common host response to infection, yet it remains unclear whether fasting is detrimental or beneficial to an infected host. Despite the gastrointestinal tract being the primary site of nutrient uptake and a common route for infection, studies have yet to examine how fasting alters the host's response to an enteric infection. To test this, mice were fasted before and during oral infection with the invasive bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.

Children with congenital heart disease exhibit seasonal variation in physical activity.

Objective: We sought to identify seasonal variation in physical activity that different physical activity measurement tools can capture in children with congenital heart disease.

Methods: Data were collected as part of a prospective cohort study at BC Children's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. Daily step counts of children aged 9-16 years with moderate-to-severe CHD were assessed continuously for 1-year via a commercial activity tracker (Fitbit Charge 2™).

Physical Activity Is Associated With Better Vascular Function in Children and Adolescents With Congenital Heart Disease.

Background: Aortic stiffness is an important marker of cardiovascular risk and is elevated in children and adolescents with congenital heart disease (CHD) compared with healthy children; however, in children with CHD, little is known about the interaction between aortic stiffness and physical activity-a key determinant of aortic stiffness.

Methods: For this cross-sectional cohort study, we recruited children and adolescents aged 9-16 years with moderate-to-complex CHD from British Columbia Children's Hospital and travelling partnership clinics across the province of British Columbia and the Yukon territory. Mean daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were objectively assessed using an ActiGraph accelerometer worn over the right hip during waking hours for 7 days.

Reduced Physical Activity During COVID-19 Pandemic in Children With Congenital Heart Disease.

Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk for both COVID-19 and secondary cardiovascular outcomes. Their increased cardiovascular risk may be mitigated through physical activity, but public health measures implemented for COVID-19 can make physical activity challenging. We objectively measured the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on physical activity, continuously measured by Fitbit step counts, in children with CHD.