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OBJECTIVES: Electrical cardiometry and heart ultrasound might allow hemodynamic evaluation during transportation of critically ill patients. Our aims were 1) to test feasibility of stroke volume monitoring using electrical cardiometry or ultrasound during transportation and 2) to investigate if transportation impacts on electrical cardiometry and ultrasound reliability. DESIGN: Prospective, pragmatic, feasibility cohort study. SETTING: Mobile ICUs specialized for neonatal and pediatric transportation. PATIENTS: Thirty hemodynamically stable neonates and infants. INTERVENTIONS: Patients enrolled underwent paired stroke volume measurements (180 before/after and 180 during the transfer) by electrical cardiometry (SVEC) and ultrasound (SVUS). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: No problems or malfunctioning occurred neither with electrical cardiometry nor with ultrasound. Ultrasound lasted on average 90 (10) seconds, while 45 (15) seconds were needed to instigate electrical cardiometry monitoring. Coefficient of variation was higher for SVUS (before/after: 0.57; during: 0.66) than for SVEC (before/after: 0.38; during: 0.36). Correlations between SVEC and SVUS before/after and during the transfer were r equal to 0.57 and r equal to 0.8, respectively (p always < 0.001). Bland-Altman analysis showed that stroke volume tends to be higher if measured by electrical cardiometry. SVEC measured before (5.5 [2.4] mL), during (5.4 [2.4] mL), and after the transfer (5.4 [2.3] mL) are similar (p = 0.955); same applies for SVUS before (2.6 [1.5] mL), during (2.4 [2] mL), and after (2.9 [2] mL) the transfer (p = 0.268). CONCLUSIONS: Basic hemodynamic monitoring is feasible during pediatric and neonatal transportation both with electrical cardiometry and ultrasound. These two techniques show comparable reliability, although stroke volume was higher if measured by electrical cardiometry. The transportation itself does not affect the reliability of stroke volume measurements.

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Prematurity is a recognized risk factor for morbidity and mortality following cardiac surgery. Postoperative and long-term outcomes after cardiac surgery performed in the preterm period are poorly described. The aim of this study was to analyze a population of preterm neonates operated on for critical congenital heart disease (CHD) before 37 weeks of gestational age (wGA) with special attention given to early and late mortality and morbidity. Between 2000 and 2013, 28 preterm neonates (median gestational age (GA) 34.3 weeks) underwent cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) surgery for critical CHD before 37 wGA; records were retrospectively reviewed. All patients except three with single ventricle physiology had a single-stage anatomic repair. Overall mortality was 43 % (95 % CI 25-62). Risk factors for death were birth weight (p = 0.032) and weight at surgery (p = 0.037), independently of GA, preoperative status, CPB and aortic clamp time. Seven patients, including those with univentricular hearts, died during the postoperative period, and five in the first year after surgery. Median follow-up was 5.9 years (range 1 month-12.8 years). Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 75 % (95 % CI 59-91) at 1 month, and 57 % (95 % CI 39-75) at 1 and 5 years. Eight patients required reoperations after a delay of 2.8 ± 1.3 months; eight had bronchopulmonary dysplasia. At the end of follow-up, nine patients were asymptomatic. One-stage biventricular repair for critical CHD on preterm neonates was feasible. Mortality remained high but acceptable, mainly confined to the first postoperative year and related to small weight. Despite reoperations, long-term clinical status was good in most survivors. Further long-term prospective investigations are necessary to evaluate neurodevelopmental outcomes.

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PURPOSE: Cardiac output (CO), the product of stroke volume (SV) and heart rate, is essential to guarantee organ perfusion, especially in the intensive care setting. As invasive measurement of CO bears the risk of complications there is a need for non-invasive alternatives. We investigated if electrical velocimetry (EV) and transthoracic Doppler (Doppler-TTE) are interchangeable for the non-invasive measurement of SV and able to reflect the post-surgical SV/CO trend. METHODS: Comparison of SV measurements by EV and Doppler-TTE was performed in 24 newborns after switch operation (n = 240 measurements). Three subgroups of measurements (=periods) were created according to the patients' status in the course of post-surgical CO recovery. RESULTS: Bland-Altman analysis found acceptable bias and limits of agreement for the interchangeability of the two methods. Mean overall SV was 3.7 ml with a mean overall bias of 0.28 ml (=7.6 %). The mean percentage error of 29 % was acceptable according to the method of Critchley and Critchley. Overall precision expressed by the coefficient of variation (CV) was 6.6 % for SV(TTE) and 4.4 % for SV(EV). SV(TTE) and SV(EV) medians in the three periods were significantly different and documented the post-surgical CO trend. CONCLUSIONS: EV and Doppler-TTE are interchangeable for estimating SV. EV has the advantages of easy handling and allows continuous measurement.

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BACKGROUND: The arterial switch operation (ASO) is the optimal option for neonates with transposition of the great arteries (TGA). Low birth weight (LBW) and prematurity were considered as risk factors for poor outcome in early corrective surgery for cardiac defects. This retrospective study was undertaken to evaluate early and midterm results in infants with TGA weighing less than 2,000 grams who underwent surgical procedure in the neonatal period. METHODS: Among the 1,505 patients who underwent surgical procedure for TGA at our institution, 25 (0.02%) had a birth weight less than 2,000 grams and constituted the study group. Median age at operation was 19 days and median weight was 1,930 grams. Prior to surgery, all were in the intensive care unit. Eleven (48%) with TGA and intact interventricular septum had an ASO but one had a Senning operation. Among 13 patients (52%) with complex TGA, 9 had anatomic repair and 4 had palliation. RESULTS: Operative mortality was 16%. Age at operation greater than 30 days and palliation were risks factors for early death. At postoperative 43 months, actuarial survival rate was 71% and freedom from reoperation rate was 73%. All survivors were considered to have good cardiac status; 95% joined the normal curve for LBW infants without heart defects. CONCLUSIONS: These data support that delaying repair in LBW neonates with simple or complex TGA does not confer any benefit and is associated with higher morbidity.

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