Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2011
Continuous veno-venous single-pass albumin hemodiafiltration in children with acute liver failure.
To investigate the applicability, efficacy, and safety of single-pass albumin dialysis in children. ⋯ In childhood acute liver failure, treatment with single-pass albumin dialysis was generally well tolerated and seems to be effective in detoxification and in improving blood pressure, thus stabilizing the critical condition of children before liver transplantation and facilitating bridging to liver transplantation. It may be beneficial in avoiding severe neurologic sequelae after acute liver failure and thereby improve survival. Single-pass albumin dialysis is an inexpensive albumin-based detoxification system that is easy to set up and requires little training. Whether and to what extent single-pass albumin dialysis can support children with acute liver failure until native liver recovery remains unclear.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialHemodynamic correlates of serum cortisol in neonates after cardiopulmonary bypass.
To document preoperative and early postoperative serum cortisol levels among a group of neonates with complex congenital heart disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass surgery and to describe the relationship between serum cortisol and hemodynamic variables in the early postoperative period. ⋯ Serum cortisol levels were low in the majority of subjects, although a wide range was observed. Higher cortisol levels were associated with greater atrial filling pressures and a lower cardiac index. The relationship between serum cortisol and cardiovascular performance after cardiopulmonary bypass in infants warrants further evaluation.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2011
Multicenter StudySurvival of neonates with enteroviral myocarditis requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.
Neonates infected with enteroviruses may present with severe myocarditis and medically refractory cardiopulmonary collapse. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used to support patients in this setting, but its efficacy has not been systematically studied. We sought to review the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization registry to determine survival rates and identify predictors of in hospital mortality for these neonates. ⋯ Cardiopulmonary support with ECMO should be considered for neonates with severe enteroviral myocarditis that fails conventional medical therapies. Multisystem organ dysfunction, particularly with renal involvement, may portend a poor prognosis and is one of several factors that should be considered in the decision to initiate and/or continue mechanical support for these patients.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2011
ReviewPediatric respiratory diseases: 2011 update for the Rogers' Textbook of Pediatric Intensive Care.
To review articles relevant to the field of pediatric respiratory disease that were published after the 2008 Rogers' Textbook of Pediatric Intensive Care. ⋯ There have been important new developments relevant to the pathogenesis and management of pediatric respiratory diseases. In particular, new insights into the causal pathways of respiratory syncytial virus-induced airways disease can potentially lead to novel therapies. Computed tomography imaging of the injured lung during mechanical ventilation has opened new avenues for future research directed at testing new treatments in acute lung injury subpopulations defined according to lung mechanics. Promising new monitoring techniques may play a supporting role in the conduct of these studies. Finally, evidence from the neonatal literature recently has shown how the course and future consequences of respiratory failure in this population may be modified through more widespread use of noninvasive support.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · May 2011
Randomized Controlled TrialSevere traumatic brain injury in children elevates glial fibrillary acidic protein in cerebrospinal fluid and serum.
1) To determine the levels of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in both cerebrospinal fluid and serum; 2) to determine whether serum GFAP levels correlate with functional outcome; and 3) to determine whether therapeutic hypothermia, as compared with normothermia, alters serum GFAP levels in children with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). ⋯ GFAP was markedly elevated in cerebrospinal fluid and serum in children after severe TBI and serum GFAP measured on pediatric intensive care unit day 1 correlated with functional outcome at 6 months. Hypothermia therapy did not alter serum GFAP levels compared with normothermia after severe TBI in children. Serum GFAP concentration, together with other biomarkers, may have prognostic value after TBI in children.