Pediatric research
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Abstract
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There is a growing interest worldwide in using echocardiography in the neonatal unit to act as a complement to the clinical assessment of the hemodynamic status of premature and term infants. However, there is a wide variation in how this tool is implemented across many jurisdictions, the level of expertise, including the oversight of this practice. ⋯ Currently, there is no overarching governance structure for training and accreditation in Europe. In this paper, we provide a brief description of the current training recommendations across several jurisdictions including Europe, North America, and Australia and describe the steps required to achieve a sustainable governance structure with the responsibility to provide accreditation to neonatologist performed echocardiography in Europe.
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BackgroundPostnatally, the immature left ventricle (LV) is subjected to high systemic afterload. Hypothesizing that LV pumping would change during transition-adaptation, we analyzed the LV in preterm infants (GA≤32+6), clinically stable or with a hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hPDA) by applying a pump model. MethodsPumping was characterized by EA (effective arterial elastance, reflecting afterload), EES (end-systolic LV elastance, reflecting contractility), EA/EES coupling ratios, descriptive EA:EES relations, and EA/EES graphs. ⋯ Therefore, LV pumping was characterized by a lower EA/EES coupling ratio (P=0.088) throughout transition-adaptation. ConclusionsIn stable infants, facing high afterload, the immature LV, enhanced by the physiological PDA, increases its contractility. In hPDA, facing low afterload, the overloaded immature LV exhibits a consistently lower contractility.
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Multicenter Study
Management and outcomes of childhood Goodpasture's disease.
BackgroundIn an attempt to improve knowledge about childhood Goodpasture's disease, we performed a retrospective analysis of patients with Goodpasture's disease from several pediatric nephrology centers. MethodsWe analyzed the responses to 27 questions that elicited information about the following: incidence, demographics, patient history and clinical presentation, diagnostics performed, acute and chronic therapy, course of disease, and outcome. ResultsGoodpasture's disease, which is extremely rare in this age group, may manifest in 2-year-old toddlers and does not typically present with pulmonary findings before puberty. ⋯ Nearly 50% of children progressed to end-stage renal disease. However, long-term outcome in children might be better than in adults. Aggressive immunosuppressive therapy might be necessary for all affected children, even in patients who require renal replacement therapy or have severe biopsy findings.
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BackgroundN-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation has been implicated in the pathobiology of inflammatory, nociceptive and neuropathic pain, opioid tolerance, opioid-induced hyperalgesia, and central sensitization. Some of those mechanisms underlie sickle cell disease(SCD)-associated pain. MethodsWe conducted an exploratory cohort study of SCD patients who during vaso-occlusive episodes (VOEs) received subanesthetic doses of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, ketamine, as an adjunct to opioids. ⋯ Fifty-four percent of infusions yielded meaningful reductions in pain scores, and in multivariate analysis, sex, age group, pain location, and infusion duration independently predicted pain score changes. ConclusionThis study suggests that in SCD patients admitted with VOE-associated pain, ketamine has age- and sex-dependent effects. These data can inform sample and effect size calculations for controlled trials to determine which SCD patients would benefit most from ketamine.