Chest Compression Depth Targets in Critically Ill Infants and Children Measured With a Laser Distance Meter: Single-Center Retrospective Study From Japan, 2019-2022.

OBJECTIVES: Current resuscitation guidelines recommend target chest compression depth (CCd) of approximately 4cm for infants and 5cm for children. Previous reports based on chest CT suggest these recommended CCd targets might be too deep for younger children. Our aim was to examine measurements of anterior-posterior chest diameter (APd) with a laser distance meter and calculate CCd targets in critically ill infants and children. DESIGN: A retrospective descriptive study. SETTING: Single-center PICU, using data from May 2019 to May 2022. PATIENTS: All critically ill children admitted to PICU and under 8 years old were eligible to be included in the retrospective cohort. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The chest APd measurements using a laser distance meter are part of our usual practice on the PICU. Target CCd and the over-compression threshold CCd for each age group was calculated as 1/3 and 1/2 of APd, respectively. In 555 patients, the median (interquartile range) of the calculated target CCd for each age group was: 2.7 cm (2.5-2.9 cm), 2.9 cm (2.7-3.2 cm), 3.2 cm (3-3.5 cm), 3.4 cm (3.2-3.6 cm), 3.4 cm (3.2-3.6 cm), 3.6 cm (3.4-3.8 cm), 3.6 cm (3.4-4 cm), and 4 cm (3.5-4.2 cm), for 0, 2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-11, 12-17, 18-23, 24 to less than 60, and 60 to less than 96 months, respectively. Using guideline-recommended absolute CCd targets, 4 cm for infants and 5 cm for children, 49% of infants between 0 and 2 months, and 45.5% of children between 12 and 17 months would be over-compressed during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, the 1/3 CCd targets calculated from APd measured by laser meter were shallower than the guideline-recommended CCd. Further studies including evaluating hemodynamics during cardiopulmonary resuscitation with these shallower CCd targets are needed.

Crowned dens syndrome: A case series of 72 patients at eight teaching hospitals in Japan.

Background: Crowned dens syndrome (CDS) is characterized by calcification around the odontoid process, accompanied by neck pain. Although CDS is supposedly rare, we regularly diagnose and manage this condition, indicating a perception gap between previous studies and our experience. The purpose of this study was to determine the annual incidence of CDS, time to diagnosis in CDS, as well as the features of CDS. Methods: The study design was a retrospective case series study conducted at eight teaching hospitals in Japan. We identified CDS cases from April 2013-March 2015. CDS was diagnosed when patients had acute onset of neck pain and CT showed calcification around the dens and when other diagnoses were unlikely. Results: Seventy-two CDS cases were identified. Mean annual incidence was 4.6 ± 2.3 cases at each hospital. Among those with available data, 57 of 64 had limited rotation (89.1%). The diagnosis of CDS was made in general internal medicine or the emergency medicine department in 61 cases (84.7%). A total of 62 cases (86.1%) were diagnosed within 1 day of presentation, and the median time from initial presentation at the hospital to diagnosis was 0.0 days (25th-75th percentiles, 0.0-1.0). For treatment, NSAIDs were used in 56cases (77.8%) and acetaminophen in 20 cases (27.8%). Conclusion: CDS might be more common than has been reported to date. Time to diagnosis of CDS was within 1 day of visiting a teaching hospital. Cervical motion restriction is common in CDS and may be useful in establishing the diagnosis.

Precordial Doppler to assess vascular access in children: A preliminary report.

BACKGROUND: Delayed identification and dysfunction of peripheral intravenous (PIV) infiltration can lead to serious injury in children. This preliminary study aimed to describe the application of precordial Doppler ultrasound to detect and confirm the correct PIV access in children with congenital heart disease (CHD). METHODS: This study was conducted on children (<18 years) diagnosed with CHD and admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) of a single center after cardiac surgery or cardiac catheterization between February 2020 and May 2021. Three raters judged the precordial Doppler sound change (S test) after injection of 0.5 mL/kg of normal saline (NS) through the PIV access. Blood-flow velocities before and after the NS injection were recorded and the accuracy of detecting PIV catheter infiltration and dysfunction was analyzed (V test). RESULTS: The overall incidence of PIV infiltration and dysfunction was in 3 out of 103 patients (2.9%). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 3 out of 3 [100%, 95% confidence interval (CI): 29.2-100], 86 out of 100 (86%, 95% CI: 77.6%-92.1), 7.1, 0.0, and 0.93, respectively, in the S test and they were 2 out of 3 (66.7%, 95% CI: 9.4%-99.2), 94 out of 100 (94.0%, 95% CI: 87.4%-7.8%), 11.1, 0.36, and 0.80, respectively in the V test. CONCLUSIONS: Precordial Doppler ultrasound was a feasible and accurate technique for confirming correct PIV access in children with CHD; however, a larger, prospective investigation is necessary to examine its diagnostic accuracy.

A model six-month workshop for developing systematic review protocols at teaching hospitals: action research and scholarly productivity.

BACKGROUND: Research engagement contributes to the improvement of patient care. A systematic review is a suitable first scholarly activity because it entails summarization of publicly available data and usually requires neither rigorous ethical review nor research funding. METHODS: This study aimed to develop a model workshop for healthcare staff to acquire skills in creating systematic review protocols based on their own clinical questions at teaching hospitals. We used an action research method to create a model workshop at four hospitals in Japan from April 2015 to March 2017. To improve the program, we solicited reflections using participant questionnaires for each lecture and examined the quality of homework submitted by participants after each lecture. We administered a revised final version of the workshop at five hospitals from April 2016 to March 2017. We evaluated the participants' scholarly productivity related to these workshops. The observation period was a minimum of 2 years following the workshops. RESULTS: Most participants had never developed a formal clinical research protocol and voluntarily participated in the workshop. The action research was developed and implemented at nine teaching hospitals in Japan, including one university hospital. The study developed a model nine-step workshop curriculum: 1) Research question development, 2) Search strategy development, 3) Search strategy brush-up, 4) Exclusion and inclusion criteria development, 5) Risk of bias assessment planning, 6) Meta-analysis planning, 7) Subgroup and sensitivity analysis planning, 8) Planning the presentation of results, and 9) Presentation protocols. A total of 233 participants, including medical doctors and other health professionals, produced 414 research questions. Seventy-nine participants (34%) completed the workshop, and 47 review teams accomplished systematic review protocols. The participants published 13 peer-reviewed articles as a result of the workshop. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a structured scholarly productive model workshop for healthcare staff working at hospitals. We found healthcare staff with clinical subspecialties were able to develop an unexpectedly high number of research questions through this workshop. Medical teachers at hospitals with prior systematic review experience could teach how to develop systematic review protocols using this model. Further research is needed to increase the academic productivity of such workshops. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UMIN (https://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/), UMIN000017107 (4/15/2015), UMIN000025580 (1/10/2017).

Aorto-pleural fistula successfully treated by one-lung ventilation and Endobronchial Watanabe Spigots.

Aorto-pleural fistula (APF) is a rare, potentially fatal condition that should be immediately treated by an endovascular or surgical approach. In this case, we treated APF using bronchial occlusion with Endobronchial Watanabe Spigots (EWSs) after one-lung ventilation. Notably, EWS is composed of silicon for endobronchial occlusion under bronchoscopy. An 88-year-old man was referred to our hospital for sudden massive hemoptysis. We maintained the airway by emergent intubation into the right main bronchus through guided bronchoscopy. Computed tomography demonstrated an aortic aneurysm at the aortic arch, penetrating the upper lobe of the left lung. On the 18th hospital day, we performed prophylactic endobronchial occlusion with EWS. The patient was extubated shortly thereafter. Endobronchial occlusion with EWS might be effective in patients with APF who exhibit generally poor conditions. Endobronchial occlusion treatment should be performed after controlling massive bleeding by one-lung ventilation.