Lauren C. Kane

Thromboelastography—does it impact blood component transfusion in pediatric heart surgery?

BACKGROUND The administration of blood products during pediatric cardiac surgery is common. We sought to determine if thromboelastography (TEG) is a cost-effective tool to reduce blood product transfusion in open pediatric cardiac surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective case-control study was undertaken for 150 pediatric cardiac patients requiring cardiopulmonary bypass from January 2010-May 2012, in a University-affiliated pediatric hospital. Fifty sequential patients operated on when TEG was used were compared with 100 control patients before TEG availability. Groups were matched 2:1 for age and risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery score. Blood product utilization was compared between groups, as were outcomes metrics such as postoperative complications, length of stay, and hospital costs of transfusions. RESULTS Demographic variables, risk adjustment for congenital heart surgery score classifications, and cardiopulmonary bypass times were similar between groups. Red cell and plasma transfusion were comparable between groups. TEG patients saw a substantial reduction in the administration of platelet (1 versus 2.2 U; P < 0.0001) and cryoprecipitate (0.7 versus 1.7 U; P < 0.0001) transfusions. A greater than 50% reductions in hospital costs of platelet (

Congenital Heart Operations Performed in the First Year of Life: Does Geographic Variation Exist?

595 versus

The ACGME Fellowship in Congenital Cardiac Surgery: The Graduates’ Perspective

1309) and cryoprecipitate (

Multicenter Quality Improvement Project to Prevent Sternal Wound Infections in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Patients

39 versus

IS A PULSATILE GLENN AN ADEQUATE ALTERNATIVE FOR LONG-TERM PALLIATION IN PATIENTS WITH SINGLE VENTRICLE PHYSIOLOGY?

94) transfusions were observed in the TEG group. Mortality, length of stay, ventilator requirements, postoperative bleeding, and thrombotic events were equivalent. CONCLUSIONS Intraoperative TEG use reduced platelet and cryoprecipitate transfusions without an increase in postoperative complications. TEG is a cost-effective method to direct blood product replacement.

Quadricuspid aortic valve: intraoperative transesophageal echocardiograph image.

BACKGROUND Geographic variations associated with surgical intervention for congenital heart disease are ill defined. This study uses a large clinical registry to assess frequency of surgical intervention for various infant congenital heart diseases overall and across US geographic regions. METHODS Patients younger than 1 year of age in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons Congenital Heart Surgery Database (January 2010 through June 2012) were included. Index operations were classified on the basis of seven major diagnostic groups and 10 specific diagnoses and were compared across geographic regions using a χ(2) test. Region was defined by patient residence. RESULTS The study included 23,379 patients (94 centers). Septal defects (26.2%) were the most frequently reported diagnostic group, and tetralogy of Fallot (10.6%) was the most frequent specific diagnosis. Significant geographic variation was noted for all seven major diagnostic groups. The proportion of patients undergoing surgery for septal defects varied from 23.9% to 30.2% (p = 0.001); pulmonary venous anomalies, 2.8% to 4.5% (p = 0.03); right heart lesions, 15.7% to 21.4% (p < 0.0001); left heart lesions, 22.7% to 30.4% (p = 0.0002); single-ventricle lesions, 7.3% to 11.4% (p < 0.0001); transposition of the great arteries and double-outlet right ventricle, 9.0% to 15.3% (p < 0.0001); and coronary artery anomalies, 0.4% to 1.4% (p = 0.04). Significant regional variation was also observed for 7 of the 10 specific diagnoses examined. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate significant variation in congenital heart disease diagnostic groups requiring surgery before 1 year of age across US geographic regions.

The Role of Echocardiography and Intracardiac Exploration in the Evaluation of Candidacy for Biventricular Repair in Patients With Borderline Left Heart Structures

The creation of structured fellowship programs in congenital heart surgery (CHS) in the United States appears to have improved the training of congenital heart surgeons. However, the transition process between fellowship and clinical practice and the lack of senior mentorship continue to be major problems. We report the results of a survey of all graduates of accredited programs in CHS. A total of 35/51 (69%) graduates responded to the survey. Of 34 that are in practice, 31 (91%) did not feel ready to engage in solo CHS after completion of training. Even though 33 (97%) considered mentorship in the first few years of practice very important, almost 40% indicated inadequate mentorship. Several graduates continue to mainly assist and do not seem to be independent several years after graduating from their fellowship. On an open-ended question for additional comments, 15 respondents volunteered that a 1-year fellowship duration was not enough and seven stressed the importance of mentorship and the need for an adequate transition from fellowship to practice. Based on the results of the survey and our own experience, we propose the creation of a 1- or 2-year transitional junior faculty period to follow the 1-year formal training in CHS. We believe innovative approaches to improve the transition to clinical practice are required to maximize the likelihood of success among congenital heart surgery graduates.

Mid-Term Outcomes in Patients with Congenitally Corrected Transposition of the Great Arteries: A Single Center Experience

Background: Children undergoing cardiac surgery are at risk for sternal wound infections (SWIs) leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Single-center quality improvement (QI) initiatives have demonstrated decreased infection rates utilizing a bundled approach. This multicenter project was designed to assess the efficacy of a protocolized approach to decrease SWI. Methods: Pediatric cardiac programs joined a collaborative effort to prevent SWI. Programs implemented the protocol, collected compliance data, and provided data points from local clinical registries using Society of Thoracic Surgery Congenital Heart Surgery Database harvest-compliant software or from other registries. Results: Nine programs prospectively collected compliance data on 4,198 children. Days between infections were extended from 68.2 days (range: 25-82) to 130 days (range: 43-412). Protocol compliance increased from 76.7% (first quarter) to 91.3% (final quarter). Ninety (1.9%) children developed an SWI preprotocol and 64 (1.5%) postprotocol, P = .18. The 657 (15%) delayed sternal closure patients had a 5% infection rate with 18 (5.7%) in year 1 and 14 (4.3%) in year 2 P = .43. Delayed sternal closure patients demonstrated a trend toward increased risk for SWI of 1.046 for each day the sternum remained open, P = .067. Children who received appropriately timed preop antibiotics developed less infections than those who did not, 1.9% versus 4.1%, P = .007. Conclusion: A multicenter QI project to reduce pediatric SWIs demonstrated an extension of days between infections and a decrease in SWIs. Patients who received preop antibiotics on time had lower SWI rates than those who did not.

“Chase perfection, catch excellence”

Background: There are limited studies analyzing pulsatile Glenns (PG) as a palliation strategy for complex single ventricle (SV) patients. This study sought to determine their outcomes at a single institution. Methods: All SV pts who underwent PG from 1995-2016 were included. Failure was defined as

Effect of Gastrointestinal Malformations on the Outcomes of Patients With Congenital Heart Disease

Quadricuspid aortic valve is an extremely rare congenital anomaly. In Quadricuspid aortic valve, the aortic valve has four distinct leaflets. The most common type A variant has four equal cusps. The most common presentation is aortic insufficiency. A 70-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man presented to our practice in a 3-month time span were described here.