Cardiology in the young
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Cardiology in the young · Jun 2015
Observational StudySpectrum of cyanotic congenital heart disease diagnosed by echocardiographic evaluation in patients attending paediatric cardiology clinic of a tertiary cardiac care centre.
Cyanotic CHD comprises up to 25% of cases of all causes of CHD. ⋯ Tetralogy of Fallot and its variants were the most common cyanotic heart disease diagnosed in our patients. As there were a significant proportion of cases with complex cyanotic CHD, paediatric cardiologists should be familiar with the diagnosis and management of all these complex congenital malformations of the heart.
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Cardiology in the young · Jun 2015
Collaborative quality improvement in the cardiac intensive care unit: development of the Paediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4).
Despite many advances in recent years for patients with critical paediatric and congenital cardiac disease, significant variation in outcomes remains across hospitals. Collaborative quality improvement has enhanced the quality and value of health care across specialties, partly by determining the reasons for variation and targeting strategies to reduce it. ⋯ The Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4) has been modelled after successful collaborative quality improvement initiatives, and is positioned to provide the data platform necessary to realise these objectives. We describe the development of PC4 including the philosophical, organisational, and infrastructural components that will facilitate collaborative quality improvement in paediatric cardiac critical care.
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Cardiology in the young · Jun 2015
Dexmedetomidine utilisation and outcomes of children with trisomy 21 undergoing congenital heart disease surgery.
The diagnosis of trisomy 21 in children has been associated with failed extubation after CHD surgery. Dexmedetomidine may be a useful agent to improve postoperative outcomes in these patients, such as ventilator time, ICU length of stay, or hospital length of stay. ⋯ The use of dexmedetomidine was not associated with the decreased ventilatory time. Routine use of dexmedetomidine is not warranted in this patient population.
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It is an honour to present the Anthony Chang lecture at this 10th International Conference of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society. I have had the privilege of knowing Dr Chang for over 20 years, and although we only worked for a short period of time together at the Children's Hospital, Boston, in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, we have remained close colleagues and friends since that time. The contributions of Dr Chang to the development of paediatric cardiac intensive care are very clear, based on his clinical expertise, research and scholarship, and the development of the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society in its early days. More than this, Dr Chang is an individual with vision; in many respects, he has been ahead of the curve, anticipating and leading the direction of paediatric cardiac intensive care.