Prolonged hospital length of stay after pediatric heart transplantation: A machine learning and logistic regression predictive model from the Pediatric Heart Transplant Society.

Background: Heart transplantation (HT) is the gold standard for managing end-stage heart failure. Multiple quality metrics, including length of stay (LOS), have been used in solid organ transplantation. However, limited data are available regarding trends and factors influencing LOS after pediatric HT.

Percutaneous Closure of a "Doughnut Leak" Around an Atrial Septal Occluder Device in a Patient With Recurrent Migraines.

A 10-year-old girl with pulmonary atresia status post transannular patch repair and secundum atrial septal defect (ASD) underwent percutaneous ASD closure 5 years earlier. There was improvement in arterial saturation from 86% to 98% with minimal residual right-to-left shunt. Despite subsequent medical therapy, she developed recurrent migraines, which led us to pursue percutaneous closure of the shunt.

Volumetrics and fit assessments for donor to recipient size matching in pediatric heart transplantation: Is it time for a new paradigm?

Pediatric heart transplant patients face the highest waitlist mortality in solid organ transplantation. Given the relatively fixed number of donor organs becoming available each year, improving donor organ utilization could potentially have significant impact on reducing waitlist mortality. Donor to recipient weight ratio has historically been used to identify suitable donors; however, this method does not take into account the potential for significant variance in heart size due to complex congenital heart disease or underlying cardiomyopathy.

Hepatic Vein Incorporation Into the Azygos System in Heterotaxy and Interrupted Inferior Vena Cava.

Background: Patients with heterotaxy, single ventricle and interrupted inferior vena cava are at risk of developing significant pulmonary arteriovenous malformations and cyanosis, and inequitable distribution of hepatic factor has been implicated in their development. We describe our experience with a technique for hepatic vein incorporation that reliably provides resolution of cyanosis and presumably equitable hepatic factor distribution.

Methods: A retrospective review of a single-surgeon experience was conducted for patients who underwent this modified Fontan operation utilizing an extracardiac conduit from the hepatic veins to the dominant superior cavopulmonary connection.

Alternative methods for virtual heart transplant-Size matching for pediatric heart transplantation with and without donor medical images available.

Background: Listed pediatric heart transplant patients have the highest solid-organ waitlist mortality rate. The donor-recipient body weight (DRBW) ratio is the clinical standard for allograft size matching but may unnecessarily limit a patient's donor pool. To overcome DRBW ratio limitations, two methods of performing virtual heart transplant fit assessments were developed that account for patient-specific nuances.

Therapeutic options in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: a pediatric perspective.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most prevalent genetic cardiomyopathy in children and young adults. Despite advances in understanding the molecular etiology of this disorder, the clinical phenotypes vary widely from asymptomatic septal hypertrophy, to frank congestive heart failure due to left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (LVOTO), to unexpected sudden cardiac death. Thus, isolating a specific genetic defect in this disease does little to predict the clinical consequence.

Improved exercise performance in pediatric heart transplant recipients after home exercise training.

Pediatric heart transplant recipients have been shown to have reduced exercise performance. Studies of adult heart transplant recipients demonstrate improved endurance from regular aerobic exercise; however, this strategy has not been studied in children. We hypothesized that regular aerobic/strength training would improve exercise performance in children post-heart transplant.