KaRhab: an international online registry for cardiac rhabdomyomas.

Background: Cardiac rhabdomyoma (RHM) is considered one of the most frequent benign heart tumors in children. However, encounters with cardiac RHM in clinical practice remain rare. Clinical information is primarily available in the form of single case reports or smaller studies with a shortage of large-scale reviews encompassing a substantial number of cases.

Looking through the crystal ball feasibility of tele-echocardiography using smart glasses in neonates: a pilot study.

Background: In recent years, the importance of telemedicine has increased significantly. Especially in the field of echocardiography, virtual reality glasses offer the possibility of real-time data transmission without restrictions in the examination process. In particular, the care of critically ill newborns with suspected CHD might be improved by allowing a specialized paediatric cardiologist to remotely guide an echocardiographic examination.

Video of the Month: Pulsating Umbilicus in a Neonate with Left Ventricular Diverticulum.

Left ventricular diverticulum (LVD) is a rare malformation presenting in 0.05% of all congenital cardiac anomalies. It is associated with additional cardiac and extracardiac malformations.

Transparency-Aware Segmentation of Glass Objects to Train RGB-Based Pose Estimators.

Robotic manipulation requires object pose knowledge for the objects of interest. In order to perform typical household chores, a robot needs to be able to estimate 6D poses for objects such as water glasses or salad bowls. This is especially difficult for glass objects, as for these, depth data are mostly disturbed, and in RGB images, occluded objects are still visible.

First Real-Life Data on the Diving Response in Healthy Children.

Swimming and diving are popular recreational activities, representing an effective option in maintaining and improving cardiovascular fitness in healthy people. To date, only little is known about the cardiovascular adaption to submersion in children. This study was conducted to improve an understanding thereof.

Into the Blue: First in Man Data on Diving Physiology in Fontan Patients.

Swimming and diving are popular recreational activities. As congenital heart disease, especially patients with univentricular hearts after Fontan palliation are thought to have reduced physiologic capacities for compensation of submersion-associated physiologic demands, current guidelines put restraints on this group of patients. Although these restrictions on doctoral advice place a significant burden on affected patients, it is especially interesting that these guideline recommendations are merely based on physiologic assumptions, i.

Evaluation of Clinical Course and Maintenance Drug Treatment of Supraventricular Tachycardia in Children During the First Years of Life. A Cohort Study from Eastern Germany.

Supraventricular tachycardia (SVT) is considered the most common cause of arrhythmia in children and infants. Regarding the likelihood of a spontaneous resolution of SVTs during the first years of life, drug treatment aims to bridge the time until children 'grow out' out of the arrhythmia. The choice of antiarrhythmic agents and the planning of maintenance therapy are mainly based on clinical experience and retrospective single- and multi-institutional analyses and databases from all over the world approaching differently to this topic.

Accuracy of the Apple Watch iECG in Children With and Without Congenital Heart Disease.

The development of smart technologies paves the way for new diagnostic modalities. The Apple Watch provides an FDA approved iECG function for users from 22 years of age. Yet, there are currently no data on the accuracy of the Apple Watch iECG in children.

The Fontan and the Sea: First-in-Man Data on Swimming and Diving Physiology in Fontan Patients.

While swimming represents a popular recreational activity, the immersion of the human body into the water requires a complex physiologic adaption of the whole cardiopulmonary and circulatory system. While this sport is regarded as beneficial, especially in cardiovascular patients, current guidelines hypothesized a possible hazardous effect of swimming and especially diving in patients with univentricular hearts after Fontan palliation. Yet, actual data to underline or contradict these assumptions are lacking.

Strategies towards simpler configuration and higher peak capacity with comprehensive multidimensional gas chromatography.

Experimental and data analysis approaches in multidimensional gas chromatography (MDGC) comprising comprehensive multiple heart-cut (H/C) and comprehensive two dimensional GC (GC × GC) were developed with an example application illustrated for analysis of a technical glycol precursor sample. The GC × GC system employed a long D (30 m) and a short D (5 m) column with a flow modulator and a Deans switch (DS) as a splitter; meanwhile. The H/C system was applied solely as a DS located between long D (30 m) and D (60 m) columns without use of cryogenic trapping devices.

A multi-location peak parking approach for calculation of second dimensional retention indices for improved volatile compound identification with cryogen-free comprehensive heart-cut two-dimensional gas chromatography.

Comprehensive heart-cut multidimensional gas chromatography (CH/C MDGC) without a cryogenic trapping device was developed with an established approach for calculation of first and second dimensional retention indices (I and I) for improved compound identification. A first dimensional (D) DB-1MS column (60 m) and a second dimensional (D) DB-WAX column (60 m) were applied with a Deans switch (DS) using a constant H/C window of 0.2 min and a periodic multiple heartcut strategy comprising 225H/C throughout the CH/C.

Simulation in Neonatal Echocardiography.

There is a growing interest in neonatologists to train in echocardiography. Recommendations for training have been published by medical societies and working groups, but concerns exist on their feasibility in the face of limited resources. Simulators are increasingly used for training in medicine, including echocardiography.

Adult congenital open-heart surgery: emergence of a new mortality score.

Objectives: In revised 2018 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology guideline for the management of adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD), the committee introduced a classification that combines lesion anatomy and physiological status: ACHD anatomic physiological (AP) classification. Anatomy is described as of simple (I), moderate (II) or great (III) complexity, whereas physiology is listed in 4 categories of increasing severity (A, B, C and D). Can this classification predict early postoperative mortality?

Methods: ACHD AP classification was determined for 339 adults who underwent open-heart surgery between September 2012 and August 2018.

Assessment of tissue perfusion and vascular function in mice by scanning laser Doppler perfusion imaging.

Post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH) is a key feature of physiological vasomotion to appropriately match the supply/demand ratio of tissues. This adaptive mechanism is severely disturbed in endothelial dysfunction with a reduced flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Reduced PORH and FMD are powerful prognostic risk factors in cardiovascular diseases.

Large nonapical right ventricular diverticulum in a patient with atrioventricular septal defect.

Congenital diveticula and aneurysm of the heart are rare and most often located at the apex of the left ventricle. They pose a significant risk for cardiac failure and arrhythmias. In contrast, nonapical diverticula of the right ventricle (RV) have a much more benign course.

3D printed dielectric rectangular waveguides, splitters and couplers for 120 GHz.

We use a 3D printer to fabricate rectangular dielectric single mode waveguides for 120 GHz. The rectangular waveguides consisting of polystyrene showed an attenuation of 6.3 dB/m, which is low enough for short devices.

The blue child - amiodarone-induced blue-gray skin syndrome and pulmonary mass in a child.

Adverse effects of amiodarone are rarely seen in pediatric patients, but may occur if amiodarone is applied for long-term treatment. Two rather rare phenomena are blue-gray skin pigmentation and pulmonary mass. They represent important differential diagnoses from more common clinical complications like pneumonia and drug-induced toxic skin lesions.

Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in Nrf2 knock out mice is associated with cardiac hypertrophy, decreased expression of SERCA2a, and preserved endothelial function.

Increased production of reactive oxygen species and failure of the antioxidant defense system are considered to play a central role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. The transcription factor nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) is a key master switch controlling the expression of antioxidant and protective enzymes, and was proposed to participate in protection of vascular and cardiac function. This study was undertaken to analyze cardiac and vascular phenotype of mice lacking Nrf2.

Oral Everolimus for Treatment of a Giant Left Ventricular Rhabdomyoma in a Neonate-Rapid Tumor Regression Documented by Real Time 3D Echocardiography.

The presented case reports on successful treatment with everolimus in a neonate with left ventricular giant rhabdomyoma. The authors used a different dosage regime compared to literature and documented rapid tumor regression by 3D echocardiography.

Stiffness-dependent in vitro uptake and lysosomal acidification of colloidal particles.

The physico-chemical properties of colloidal particles determine their uptake into cells. For a series of microparticles only one parameter, the mechanical stiffness, was varied, whereas other parameters such as size, shape, and charge were kept constant. The uptake was monitored in situ by analyzing individual particle trajectories including the progress of endocytosis, derived from local pH measurements around each particle.

Effectiveness of simulator-based echocardiography training of noncardiologists in congenital heart diseases.

Background: Congenital heart diseases (CHD) are responsible for substantial morbidity and mortality in neonates. The preliminary diagnosis often is made by noncardiologists. For this reason, there is a huge demand of training in echocardiography of CHD.

Echocardiographic detection of coronary air embolism as the cause of cardiac arrest in a neonate with transposition of the great arteries.

A hemodynamically stable neonate with transposition of the great arteries suddenly went into cardiac arrest during preparation for transport to the operating room. Emergency echocardiography during cardiac massage detected coronary air embolism as the presumed cause of arrest. After about 15 minutes of resuscitation, it was possible to establish return of spontaneous circulation.