Abstract Hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) is a congenital heart defect that requires 3-stage cardiac surgical treatment and multidirectional specialist care. The condition of newborns in the first postoperative days following the modified Norwood procedure is characterized by considerable hemodynamic instability that may result in a sudden cardiac arrest. It..
Read MoreAbstract Introduction: Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) can cause stress response that increases levels of cytokine and catecholamine in plasma, resulting in hyperglycemia. In adults, it has been demonstrated that remifentanil infusion during CPB could prevent increases of cytokine, catecholamine, and blood glucose levels, but such effects of remifentanil in children have..
Read MoreAbstract OBJECTIVES: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a lifesaving but expensive therapy in terms of financial, technical and human resources. We report our experience with a ‘basic’ ECMO support model, consisting of ECMO initiated and managed without the constant presence of a bedside specialist, to assess safety, clinical outcomes and..
Read MoreAbstract Background Coagulopathy is a major problem in surgery for cyanotic congenital heart disease. Tranexamic acid has been used both topically and systemically and plays a vital role in pediatric cardiac surgery by reducing blood loss and blood product requirement. We aimed to determine the anti-fibrinolytic effectiveness of low-dose systemic..
Read MoreAbstract Abstract: Here we report two cases of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in pediatric patients following orthotopic heart transplantation due to low cardiac output and inability to separate from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Both patients had significant donor/recipient size mismatch: ratios were 0.71 and 1.73. Cannulation was via the right..
Read MoreAbstract Background Survival of children experiencing cardiac arrest refractory to conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is very poor. We sought to examine current era outcomes of extracorporeal CPR (ECPR) support for refractory arrest. Methods Patients who were <18 years and underwent ECPR between November 2013 and January 2016 were including in..
Read MoreAbstract OBJECTIVES This study investigates the effects of high glucose content on patients undergoing cold crystalloid versus cold blood cardioplegia in terms of early clinical results, functional myocardial recovery and ischaemia–reperfusion injury in patients undergoing repair of acyanotic cardiac lesions. METHODS Patients were randomly assigned to receive either crystalloid (n =..
Read MoreAbstract The provision of continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT) to small children has generally required the adaptation of adult machines and modified operational characteristics. CRRT prescription for younger and smaller children versus adults differs significantly due to problems concerning the extracorporeal blood volume, the need for circuit blood priming, and..
Read MoreAbstract Background Each year in the UK, ≈3000 children undergo major cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. Approximately 40 % of these experience excessive bleeding necessitating red cell transfusion or treatment with other blood components. A further 40 % receive blood components because of the perception by clinicians that the risk of bleeding..
Read MoreAbstract Background A change of serum lactate concentrations appeared to be useful for predicting outcomes in various acute ill settings. However, there is little information on intraoperative change of lactate level in pediatric cardiac surgery patients. Methods We conducted a retrospective observational study of 459 children who received pediatric cardiac..
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