Implementation of a 24-hour infection diagnosis protocol in the pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU).

OBJECTIVES: To reduce unnecessary antibiotic exposure in a pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU). DESIGN: Single-center, quality improvement initiative. Monthly antibiotic utilization rates were compared between 12-month baseline and 18-month intervention periods. SETTING: A 25-bed pediatric CICU. PATIENTS: Clinically stable patients undergoing infection diagnosis were included. Patients with immunodeficiency, mechanical circulatory support, open sternum, and recent culture-positive infection were excluded. INTERVENTIONS: The key drivers for improvement were standardizing the infection diagnosis process, order-set creation, limitation of initial antibiotic prescription to 24 hours, discouraging indiscriminate vancomycin use, and improving bedside communication and situational awareness regarding the infection diagnosis protocol. RESULTS: In total, 109 patients received the protocol; antibiotics were discontinued in 24 hours in 72 cases (66%). The most common reasons for continuing antibiotics beyond 24 hours were positive culture (n = 13) and provider preference (n = 13). A statistical process control analysis showed only a trend in monthly mean antibiotic utilization rate in the intervention period compared to the baseline period: 32.6% (SD, 6.1%) antibiotic utilization rate during the intervention period versus 36.6% (SD, 5.4%) during the baseline period (mean difference, 4%; 95% CI, -0.5% to -8.5%; P = .07). However, a special-cause variation represented a 26% reduction in mean monthly vancomycin use during the intervention period. In the patients who had antibiotics discontinued at 24 hours, delayed culture positivity was rare. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a protocol limiting empiric antibiotic courses to 24 hours in clinically stable, standard-risk, pediatric CICU patients with negative cultures is feasible. This practice appears safe and may reduce harm by decreasing unnecessary antibiotic exposure.

Short-Term Effect of Quetiapine Used to Treat Delirium Symptoms on Opioid and Benzodiazepine Requirements in the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Opioids or benzodiazepines use is known to increase the risk of delirium. The prevalence of delirium is high in pediatric cardiac intensive care units (CICUs) with associated morbidity and mortality. We investigate the short-term effects of quetiapine, an atypical antipsychotic medication, on opioid and benzodiazepine requirements, and any associated adverse events as we utilize quetiapine to treat delirium symptoms in this single-center, retrospective study. Twenty-eight patients who received quetiapine between January 2018 and June 2019 in the CICU met inclusion criteria for the analysis. The quetiapine initiation dose was 0.5 mg/kg/dose every 8 h and we allowed 48 h for quetiapine to reach a steady state. Overall opioid and benzodiazepine requirements were compared 72 h before and 72 h after the quetiapine steady state. There was a statistically significant reduction in the total daily opioid (p = 0.001) and benzodiazepine (p = 0.01) amounts following quetiapine initiation. There was also a statistically significant decrease in the total number of daily PRNs requirement for both opioids (p < 0.001) and benzodiazepines (p = 0.03). Nine out of 13 patients were completely weaned off continuous opioid drips following quetiapine initiation (p = 0.01). The presence of steady-state habituation medications, including methadone or lorazepam, did not have any statistically significant effect on weaning continuous opioid (p = 0.18) or benzodiazepine (p = 0.62) drips. There was no statistically significant effect of quetiapine on the QTc interval after quetiapine initiation (p = 0.58) with no clinically significant arrhythmias observed during the study period. Our study demonstrates a statistically significant reduction in opioid and benzodiazepine requirements following quetiapine initiation to treat delirium symptoms without significant adverse effects in patients with congenital heart disease in the short term.

Endocrinologic Diseases in Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this review are to discuss the pathophysiology, clinical impact and treatment of hyperglycemia, and disturbances in thyroid and adrenal function prior to and following cardiac surgery in children. DATA SOURCE: MEDLINE and PubMed. CONCLUSIONS: Disturbances in glucose metabolism and thyroid and adrenal function are common in critically ill children with cardiac disease and in particular in children undergoing cardiac surgery for complex congenital heart disease. An understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical impact and treatment of these disturbances is essential for the management of these at risk patients.

Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society 2014 Consensus Statement: Pharmacotherapies in Cardiac Critical Care Hormone Replacement Therapy.

OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the current literature on the use of hormone replacement therapies in pediatric cardiac critical care. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library were searched using keywords relevant to the hormonal therapy, with no limits on language but restricting the search to children 0-18 years old. STUDY SELECTION: All clinical studies believed to have relevance were considered. Where studies in children were sparse, additional evidence was sought from adult studies. DATA EXTRACTION: All relevant studies were reviewed, and the most relevant data were incorporated in this review. DATA SYNTHESIS: All authors of this review contributed to the appraisal of the data extracted. Challenges and revisions by the authors were conducted by group e-mail debate. CONCLUSIONS: Glycemic control: although it is likely that some children could benefit, the routine use of tight glycemic control cannot be recommended in children after cardiac surgery. Thyroid hormone replacement: routine use of thyroid hormone replacement to normalize levels after cardiac surgery cannot be recommended on current evidence. Until further evidence from adequately powered studies is available, therapeutic decisions should be based on individual patient circumstances. Corticosteroids: 1) cardiopulmonary bypass: although studies seem to favor steroid administration during surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass, a large randomized controlled trial is required before strong recommendations can be made; 2) refractory hypotension: the evidence for the use of steroid replacement in refractory hypotension is poor, and no firm recommendations can be made; and 3) abnormal adrenal function after cardiac surgery: there is inadequate evidence on which to make recommendations on the use of corticosteroid replacement in children with critical illness-related corticosteroid insufficiency in children following cardiac surgery.