Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2008
Alterations in glucose homeostasis in the pediatric intensive care unit: Hyperglycemia and glucose variability are associated with increased mortality and morbidity.
Critically ill patients with alterations in glucose equilibrium may experience adverse outcomes. We sought to describe the distribution of blood glucose values in the absence of insulin therapy and to evaluate the association of hyperglycemia, hypoglycemia, and glucose variability with mortality and morbidity of critically ill children. ⋯ We found a relationship between blood glucose level and PICU patient outcomes. The relationship is similar to that found in adults and raises the question whether attention to control of blood glucose will improve outcomes in critically ill children.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2008
CommentStage I palliation for hypoplastic left heart syndrome: Is a right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit associated with improved outcomes? Critical appraisal of Cua et al: Early postoperative outcomes in a series of infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome undergoing stage I palliation operation with either modified Blalock-Taussig shunt or right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit (Pediatr Crit Care Med 2006; 7:238-244).
To review the findings and discuss the implications of studies comparing Norwood procedure with either modified Blalock-Taussig shunt (NW-BT) or right ventricle to pulmonary artery conduit (NW-RVPA) in stage I palliation of hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS). ⋯ NW-RVPA has theoretical advantages over NW-BT and is associated with excellent outcome results. However, available data are insufficient to prove benefit in terms of mortality or morbidity. A multicenter randomized trial is currently being conducted, which should provide more conclusive information.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2008
Pulse oximeter accuracy and precision affected by sensor location in cyanotic children.
Children's digits are often too small for proper attachment of oximeter sensors, necessitating sensor placement on the sole of the foot or palm of the hand. No study has determined what effect these sensor locations have on the accuracy and precision of this technology. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of sensor location on pulse oximeter accuracy (i.e., bias) and precision in critically ill children. ⋯ The Philips M1020A pulse oximeter and Nellcor MAX-N sensors were less accurate and precise when used on the sole of the foot or palm of the hand of a child with an Sao2 <90%.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2008
Attenuating the defibrillation dosage decreases postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction in a swine model of pediatric ventricular fibrillation.
The optimal biphasic defibrillation dose for children is unknown. Postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction is common and may be worsened by higher defibrillation doses. Adult-dose automated external defibrillators are commonly available; pediatric doses can be delivered by attenuating the adult defibrillation dose through a pediatric pads/cable system. The objective was to investigate whether unattenuated (adult) dose biphasic defibrillation results in greater postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction and damage than attenuated (pediatric) defibrillation. ⋯ Unattenuated adult-dose defibrillation results in a greater frequency of myocardial damage and worse postresuscitation myocardial function than pediatric doses in a swine model of prolonged out-of-hospital pediatric ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. These data support the use of pediatric attenuating electrodes with adult biphasic automated external defibrillators to defibrillate children.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2008
Extracorporeal life support for severe respiratory failure in children with immune compromised conditions.
To examine a large cohort of children treated with extracorporeal life support (ECLS) for severe respiratory failure to investigate the hypothesis that patients with an immune compromise condition (ICC) would have reduced survival to hospital discharge compared with patients without this classification. ⋯ In this cohort of pediatric patients receiving ECLS for respiratory failure, survival to hospital discharge was reduced for each ICC subgroup examined and was approximately one in three for the overall group. Further study of the association of lower survival rates for patients who received inhaled nitric oxide prior to ECLS is needed.