Patient Outcomes of an International Telepediatric Cardiac Critical Care Program.

BACKGROUND: An optimal model for telemedicine use in the international care setting has not been established. Our objective was to describe variables associated with patient outcome during the implementation of an international pediatric cardiac critical care (PCCC) telemedicine program. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of clinical records and a telemedicine database of patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) at the Fundacion Cardiovascular de Colombia, Bucaramanga, Colombia, during the initial 10 months of our program, compared with patients admitted during a previous period. Information collected included demographic data, cardiac diagnosis and associated factors, Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS)-1 classification, and perioperative events. Primary outcome was composed of CICU and hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were CICU and hospital length of stay (LOS). RESULTS: Of the 553 patients who were included, teleconsultation was done for 71 (12.4%), with a total of 156 encounters, including 19 for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Three hundred twenty-one recommendations were given, and 42 real-time interventions were documented. RACHS-1 distribution was similar between study periods (p=0.427). Teleconsulted patients were significantly younger (44 versus 24 months; p=0.03) and had higher surgical complexity than nonteleconsulted patients (p=0.01). RACHS-1 adjusted hospital survival was similar between study periods. CICU and hospital LOS intervals were significantly shorter in the telemedicine period (10 versus 17 days [p=0.02] and 22 versus 28 days [p<0.001]). In surgical cases, preoperative CICU LOS was significantly shorter (3 versus 6 days; p<0.001). Variables associated with hospital mortality were higher RACHS-1 categories, lower weight, bypass time longer than 150 min, and use of circulatory arrest, as well as the presence of sepsis or necrotizing enterocolitis. Those associated with increased LOS were lower weight, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and cross-clamp time longer than 60 min. CONCLUSIONS: An international telemedicine service in PCCC was associated with lower CICU and hospital LOS. Prospective telemedicine interventions aimed to decrease mortality and LOS should focus on patients with higher RACHS-1 categories, lower-weight infants, and those with prolonged operative time and selective perioperative complications.

International telemedicine in pediatric cardiac critical care: a multicenter experience.

OBJECTIVE: To describe our multicenter experience in telemedicine-assisted pediatric cardiac critical care (PCCC) with four hospitals in Latin America from July 2011 to June 2013. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a descriptive study based on telemedicine encounters related to quality of communication, assessed information, activities, and recommendations. Comparison among centers was performed. A postimplementation survey was conducted through a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire investigating acceptance among professionals involved with the telemedicine service through the assessment of general satisfaction, perception about the work system, usefulness, and impact on medical practice. RESULTS: One thousand forty consultations were conducted for 476 patients. Postoperatively, patients were distributed into Risk Adjustment Classification for Congenital Heart Surgery (RACHS-1) categories as follows: 2%, 26%, 36%, 26%, and 10% in categories 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6, respectively. A real-time intervention took place in 23% of encounters. Of the 2,173 recommendations given, 70 were related to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation management. There was a different RACHS-1 distribution and encounter characteristics among centers. From a total of 51 surveys sent, 27 responses were received, and among responders, overall satisfaction was very high (4.27 ± 0.18), as well as work system quality (4.4 ± 0.37). Telemedicine was considered useful in the cardiac intensive care unit (3.86 ± 0.60), for patient outcomes (3.8 ± 0.51), and for education (3.7 ± 0.71). There was a difference in overall satisfaction, perception about telemedicine usefulness in education, and impact on medical practice among centers. CONCLUSIONS: An international, multicenter telemedicine program in PCCC is technologically and logistically feasible. Prospective interventions in our international multicenter telemedicine program should consider differences in staff composition, perception of needs, and patient population among centers.