Prevalence of specialised palliative care consultation for eligible children within a paediatric cardiac ICU.

OBJECTIVE: Retrospectively apply criteria from Center to Advance Palliative Care to a cohort of children treated in a cardiac ICU and compare children who received a palliative care consultation to those who were eligible for but did not receive one. METHODS: Medical records of children admitted to a cardiac ICU between January 2014 and June 2017 were reviewed. Selected criteria include cardiac ICU length of stay >14 days and/or ≥ 3 hospitalisations within a 6-month period. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: A consultation occurred in 17% (n = 48) of 288 eligible children. Children who received a consult had longer cardiac ICU (27 days versus 17 days; p < 0.001) and hospital (91 days versus 35 days; p < 0.001) lengths of stay, more complex chronic conditions at the end of first hospitalisation (3 versus1; p < 0.001) and the end of the study (4 vs.2; p < 0.001), and higher mortality (42% versus 7%; p < 0.001) when compared with the non-consulted group. Of the 142 pre-natally diagnosed children, only one received a pre-natal consult and 23 received it post-natally. Children who received a consultation (n = 48) were almost 2 months of age at the time of the consult. CONCLUSIONS: Less than a quarter of eligible children received a consultation. The consultation usually occurred in the context of medical complexity, high risk of mortality, and at an older age, suggesting potential opportunities for more and earlier paediatric palliative care involvement in the cardiac ICU. Screening criteria to identify patients for a consultation may increase the use of palliative care services in the cardiac ICU.

Reducing Blood Testing in Pediatric Patients after Heart Surgery: Proving Sustainability.

INTRODUCTION: Frequent blood testing increases risk of iatrogenic anemia, infection, and blood transfusion. This study describes 3 years of sustained blood testing reduction from a quality improvement (QI) initiative which began in 2011. METHODS: The cohort consisted of postop children whose surgery had a Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS) classification consecutively admitted to a tertiary Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Data were collected for a 2010 preintervention, 2011 intervention, and 2012-13 postintervention periods, tabulating common laboratory studies per patient (labs/pt) and adjusted for length of stay (labs/pt/d). The QI initiative eliminated standing laboratory orders and changed to testing based on individualized patient condition. Adverse outcomes data were collected including reintubation, central line-associated bloodstream infections and hospital mortality. Safety was measured by the number of abnormal laboratory studies, electrolyte replacements, code blue events, and arrhythmias. RESULTS: A total of 1169 patients were enrolled (303 preintervention, 315 intervention, and 551 postintervention periods). The number of labs/pt after the QI intervention was sustained (38 vs. 23 vs. 23) and labs/pt/d (15 vs. 11 vs. 10). The postintervention group had greater surgical complexity (P = 0.002), were significantly younger (P = 0.002) and smaller (P = 0.008). Children with RACHS 3-4 classification in the postintervention phase had significant increased risk of reintubation and arrhythmias. CONCLUSIONS: After the implementation of a QI initiative, blood testing was reduced and sustained in young, complex children after heart surgery. This may or may not have contributed to greater reintubation and arrhythmias among patients with RACHS 3-4 category procedures.