RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: (1) To demonstrate feasibility and safety of surfactant administration via laryngeal mask airway (LMA) as a first-line therapy. (2) To measure treatment success, defined as avoidance of intubation/invasive mechanical ventilation, and determine if specific clinical variables could predict success/failure. STUDY DESIGN: Observational cohort with eligible infants given surfactant using one type of LMA via standardized protocol. Data was captured prospectively followed by retrospective chart review. RESULTS: 120 infants ≥1250 g and 28.3-41.1 weeks gestation were included. First-line LMA surfactant therapy was successful in 70% of the infants and those infants weaned to room air significantly quicker than infants requiring subsequent intubation/mechanical ventilation (p = 0.002 by 72 h, p = 0.001 by 96 h). Clinical variables assessed could not predict treatment success/failure. Complications were infrequent and did not differ between groups. CONCLUSION: First-line LMA surfactant is feasible and safe for certain infants. Prediction of treatment success was not possible in our cohort.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: High flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is increasingly used to treat bronchiolitis. Although lower HFNC rates (≤8 L per minute) are commonly employed, higher weight-based flows more effectively alleviate dyspnea. The impact of higher flows on the need for care escalation is unclear. METHODS: A randomized clinical trial was performed in a community hospital inpatient pediatric unit. Patients with bronchiolitis on HFNC were randomized to an existing "standard" HFNC protocol (max flow of 8 L per minute), or to a novel weight-based protocol (max flow of 2 L/kg per minute). Weaning of HFNC for the patients in the standard arm was left to provider discretion but was prescribed in the weight-based arm. The primary outcome was interhospital transfer to a PICU. The study was powered to detect a 35% difference in transfer rate. RESULTS: 51 patients were randomized to the weight-based or standard HFNC arms. The interhospital PICU transfer rate did not differ significantly between the standard (41.7%) and weight-based arms (51.9%) P = .47. Hospital length of stay was significantly shorter in the weight-based arm with protocolized weaning (45 h [interquartile range 42.1-63.3] versus 77.6 h [interquartile range 47.3-113.4]); P = .01. There were no significant adverse events in either group. CONCLUSIONS: Weight-based provision of HFNC did not significantly impact the number of patients with bronchiolitis requiring interhospital transfer from a community hospital to a PICU, though we were underpowered for this outcome. Patients who received weight-based flow with protocolized weaning had a shorter length of stay, which may reflect a clinical impact of weight-based flow or the efficacy of the aggressive weaning pathway.