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Introduction: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends blood pressure screening at every health care encounter in children younger than 3 years if they have a history of prematurity or other neonatal complications requiring intensive care because these children have an increased risk for hypertension. Methods: A multidisciplinary team conducted a quality improvement initiative to improve blood pressure screening at a single-center outpatient neonatal follow-up clinic. We developed a focused intervention program including a standardized blood pressure measurement protocol, staff training and education, and streamlined documentation. We conducted two Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles from November 2019 to January 2021. The outcome measure was the percentage of patients with a blood pressure measurement. Process measures included the percentage of medical assistants educated on the new protocol, percentage of patients 3 years, and younger old with the first blood pressure measurement taken from the right arm, and the percentage of patients 1 year and younger with 3 documented blood pressures. The balancing measure was staff satisfaction with time to obtain vital signs. We used statistical process control charts and Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results: At baseline, only 15.3% of patients had documented blood pressure. During the 10-month intervention period, there were 954 patient visits. Overall, blood pressure measurement increased to 54.7% with study interventions. The balancing measure was not negatively impacted. Conclusions: After implementing a program of focused interventions, we substantially improved the frequency of blood pressure measurements and increased adherence to American Academy of Pediatrics screening guidelines. Improved blood pressure screening allows us to identify and evaluate at-risk infants after hospital discharge.
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OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of hearing loss after cardiac surgery in infancy, patient and operative factors associated with hearing loss, and the relationship of hearing loss to neurodevelopmental outcomes. STUDY DESIGN: Audiologic and neurodevelopmental evaluations were conducted on 348 children who underwent repair of congenital heart disease at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as part of a prospective study evaluating neurodevelopmental outcomes at 4 years of age. A prevalence estimate was calculated based on presence and type of hearing loss. Potential risk factors and the impact of hearing loss on neurodevelopmental outcomes were evaluated. RESULTS: The prevalence of hearing loss was 21.6% (95% CI, 17.2-25.9). The prevalence of conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and indeterminate hearing loss were 12.4% (95% CI, 8.8-16.0), 6.9% (95% CI, 4.1-9.7), and 2.3% (95% CI, 0.6-4.0), respectively. Only 18 of 348 subjects (5.2%) had screened positive for hearing loss before this study and 10 used a hearing aid. After adjusting for patient and operative covariates, younger gestational age, longer postoperative duration of stay, and a confirmed genetic anomaly were associated with hearing loss (all P < .01). The presence of hearing loss was associated with worse language, cognition and attention (P <.01). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that the prevalence of hearing loss in preschool children after heart surgery in infancy may be 20-fold higher than in the 1% prevalence seen in the general population. Younger gestational age, presence of a genetic anomaly, and longer postoperative duration of stay were associated with hearing loss. Hearing loss was associated with worse neurodevelopmental outcomes.
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Perda Auditiva/etiologia , Cardiopatias Congênitas/cirurgia , Complicações Pós-Operatórias/etiologia , Desenvolvimento Infantil , Pré-Escolar , Feminino , Seguimentos , Perda Auditiva/diagnóstico , Perda Auditiva/epidemiologia , Humanos , Lactente , Recém-Nascido , Masculino , Complicações Pós-Operatórias/diagnóstico , Complicações Pós-Operatórias/epidemiologia , Prevalência , Estudos Prospectivos , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
OBJECTIVES: Despite improved survival in children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), significant concern persists regarding their neurodevelopmental (ND) outcomes. Previous studies have identified patient factors, such as prematurity and genetic syndromes, to be associated with worse ND outcomes. However, no consistent relationships have been identified among modifiable management factors, including cardiopulmonary bypass strategies, and ND outcomes after cardiac surgery in infancy. Studies in immature animals, including primates, have demonstrated neurodegeneration and apoptosis in the brain after certain levels and extended durations of anesthetic exposure. Retrospective human studies have also suggested relationships between adverse ND effects and anesthetic exposure. METHODS: Cumulative minimum alveolar concentration hours (MAC-hrs) of exposure to volatile anesthetic agents (VAA) (desflurane, halothane, isoflurane, and sevoflurane) were collected from an anesthetic database and medical record review for 96 patients with HLHS or variants. ND testing was performed between ages 4 and 5 years, including full-scale IQ, verbal IQ, performance IQ, and processing speed. Four generalized linear modes were hypothesized a priori and tested using a Gaussian (normal) distribution with an identity link. RESULTS: Cumulative VAA exposure ranged from 0 to 35.3 MAC-hrs (median 7.5 hours). Using specified covariates identified previously as significant predictors of ND outcomes, statistically significant relationships were identified between total MAC-hrs exposure and worse full-scale IQ and verbal IQ scores (P's < .05) alone and after adjusting for relevant covariates. CONCLUSIONS: Increased cumulative MAC-hrs exposure to VAA is associated with worse ND outcomes in certain domains in children with HLHS and variants.
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Anestesia por Inalação/efeitos adversos , Anestésicos Inalatórios/efeitos adversos , Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Cardíacos , Comportamento Infantil/efeitos dos fármacos , Desenvolvimento Infantil/efeitos dos fármacos , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/induzido quimicamente , Síndrome do Coração Esquerdo Hipoplásico/cirurgia , Sistema Nervoso/efeitos dos fármacos , Fatores Etários , Anestésicos Inalatórios/administração & dosagem , Procedimentos Cirúrgicos Cardíacos/efeitos adversos , Pré-Escolar , Bases de Dados Factuais , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/diagnóstico , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/fisiopatologia , Deficiências do Desenvolvimento/psicologia , Relação Dose-Resposta a Droga , Função Executiva , Feminino , Humanos , Síndrome do Coração Esquerdo Hipoplásico/diagnóstico por imagem , Síndrome do Coração Esquerdo Hipoplásico/fisiopatologia , Inteligência , Modelos Lineares , Masculino , Prontuários Médicos , Sistema Nervoso/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Testes Neuropsicológicos , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Comportamento VerbalRESUMO
The effect of feeding method on stress hormone levels in infants is unknown. We studied infants from birth to 1 year and found salivary cortisol 40% higher in breast-fed infants compared with formula-fed infants. The higher cortisol levels among breast-fed children may be involved in the analgesic effect of breastfeeding.