Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Mar 2008
Pediatric organ donation: what factors most influence parents' donation decisions?
To identify factors that influence parents' decisions when asked to donate a deceased child's organs. ⋯ This study identifies several modifiable variables that influence the donation decision-making process for parents. Strategies to facilitate targeted organ donation education and higher consent rates are discussed.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Mar 2008
Maternal pulse oximetry perfusion index as a predictor of early adverse respiratory neonatal outcome after elective cesarean delivery.
Evidence suggests increased morbidity, in particular early neonatal respiratory complications, in newborns from elective cesarean section compared with those from vaginal delivery. No reliable maternal predictors of adverse neonatal outcome at elective cesarean section are known. Here, we prospectively tested the hypothesis that a low maternal perfusion index at the baseline phase (i.e., preanesthesia) of the elective cesarean section is a predictor of early adverse neonatal respiratory outcome. ⋯ A decreased perfusion index value in the preanesthesia phase of elective cesarean section is a maternal predictor of increased neonatal morbidity and is significantly related to subclinical placental inflammatory disease. These observations suggest the feasibility of a noninvasive pulse oximeter prenatal screening of the high-risk fetus/newborn in elective cesarean section.
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Few accurate data are available on the outcome of septic shock in the neonatal period. The objective was to describe outcome and to determine variables associated with death or adverse outcome in neonates with septic shock. ⋯ Septic shock in the neonatal period has a very poor outcome. Data underscore the extreme vulnerability of very low birth weight infants to septic shock, particularly to gram-negative species.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Mar 2008
Critical heart disease in the neonate: presentation and outcome at a tertiary care center.
To define the modes of presentation, incidence of major organ dysfunction, predictors of hospital mortality, and adverse outcomes in neonates with critical heart disease admitted to a tertiary care center. ⋯ In patients with complex congenital heart disease, including nearly half with single ventricle heart disease, neonatal hospital mortality was 7%. These patients have a high frequency of multiple congenital anomalies, genetic syndromes, low birth weight, and prolonged length of stay.