Pediatric cardiology
-
Pediatric cardiology · Apr 2009
Comparative StudyQuantitative assessment of pulmonary vascular resistance and reactivity in children with pulmonary hypertension due to congenital heart disease using a noninvasive method: new Doppler-derived indexes.
We assessed the usefulness of transthoracic Doppler-derived indexes obtained in the proximal pulmonary artery (PA) branch for estimating pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) in 45 children with congenital heart disease (CHD) and 23 normal control subjects. The acceleration time, inflection time (InT), deceleration index, and peak velocity, which were measured from the systolic PA flow velocity curve obtained at the sites of the main PA, and right and left PA, were compared with the PVR in patients with CHD. In addition, changes in either Doppler-derived indexes or PVR during 100% oxygen administration were compared in 22 patients showing a baseline PVR >or=4.6 U/m(2) (high PVR). ⋯ An increase in InTc to >6 during 100% oxygen administration for the high PVR group indicated good PA reactivity with a sensitivity of 93%, specificity of 100%, and agreement of 95% (kappa = 0.83). Moreover, this InTc index correlated inversely with PVR (r = -0.80). In conclusion, our method can noninvasively separate high and low PVR and assess the PA reactivity for high PVR in children with CHD.
-
Pediatric cardiology · Feb 2009
Case ReportsPrenatal diagnosis and management of fetal Long QT syndrome.
This report describes a fetus presenting with second-degree atrioventricular block, sinus bradycardia, and transient ventricular tachycardia with ventriculoatrial dissociation. Long QT syndrome (LQTS) was suspected due to the association of heart rhythm disturbances and very short transmitral early deceleration time. ⋯ The prognosis is poor when LQTS presents utero or during the first week of life. To date, only a few case reports of a fetus with LQTS have been published.
-
Pediatric cardiology · Feb 2009
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging for intensive care infants: safe and effective?
Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important diagnostic tool for congenital heart disease (CHD), as reflected by class 1 recommendations for the use of cardiac MRI by various consensus panels. However, little is known about the safety and clinical utility of cardiac MRI for these critically ill infants with CHD, whose further management cannot be directed by echocardiography. This study aimed to assess the safety, the potential hemodynamic side effects, and the clinical benefits of cardiac MRI for infants with complex CHD during their intensive care unit stay. ⋯ Cardiac MRI can be performed safely with low risk and limited hemodynamic changes for infants during their stay in the PCICU. Cardiac MRI provides key information for invasive management decisions in this subset of patients.
-
Pediatric cardiology · Jan 2009
Detection of pulsus paradoxus by pulse oximetry in pediatric patients after cardiac surgery.
The presence or absence of pulsus paradoxus (PP), defined as an inspiratory decrease greater than 10 mmHg in systolic blood pressure, can have significant diagnostic and therapeutic implications for many clinical conditions including acute asthma, pericardial tamponade, heart failure, hypovolemia, shock states, and the like. However, PP may be difficult to measure in children. Indwelling arterial catheters facilitate the measurement of PP, but this invasive technique generally is reserved for critically ill patients. ⋯ A strong correlation existed between respiratory SPV and DeltaPOPW% for the detection of PP (r = 0.682; p < 0.0001). A respiratory variation in DeltaPOPW% exceeding 25.44% (about one-fourth the amplitude of the tallest POP waveform) allowed detection of PP with a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 88%. Pulse oximetry is a readily available and easily performed noninvasive means for detecting PP in children.
-
Pediatric cardiology · Nov 2008
Comparative StudyComparison of calculated with measured oxygen consumption in children undergoing cardiac catheterization.
Our objective was to compare calculated (LaFarge) with measured oxygen consumption (VO(2)) using the AS/3 TM Compact Airway Module M-CAiOVX (Datex-Ohmeda, Helsinki, Finland; AS/3 TM) in children without cardiac shunts in a prospective, observational study. VO(2) was determined at the end of the routine diagnostic and/or interventional catheterization. VO(2 )was calculated according to the formula of LaFarge and Miettinen for each child and compared with the measured VO(2). ⋯ Bias and precision were 10.0 and 52.5 ml/min, respectively (95% limits of agreement: -42.4 to 62.5 ml/min). We conclude that calculation of VO(2) by the LaFarge formula does not provide reliable values compared to measured values. In clinical routine, measured rather than calculated VO(2) values should be used for the estimation of cardiac output and related variables.