Characterizing cardiac arrest in children undergoing cardiac surgery: A single-center study.

Objectives: To characterize cardiac arrest in children undergoing cardiac surgery using single-center data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Pediatric Advanced Life Support Utstein-Style Guidelines.

Methods: Patients aged 18 years or less having a cardiac arrest for 1 minute or more during the same hospital stay as heart operation qualified for inclusion (2002-2014). Patients having a cardiac arrest both before or after heart operation were included.

Preliminary single center North American experience with the Berlin Heart pediatric EXCOR device.

For children requiring mechanical circulatory support as a bridge to cardiac transplantation in North America, options previously were limited to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or centrifugal pump ventricular assist, both of which were suitable for only very short term application and were associated with significant complications and limitations. The Berlin Heart EXCOR ventricular assist device (VAD) was recently introduced into practice in North America to address this deficiency. We report a preliminary single center experience with the EXCOR in 17 children, 13 who received only a left-sided pump and four who required biventricular support.