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Abstract: Cardiac extra-corporeal life support is used more frequently in the current era of complex, high-risk neonatal heart surgery. Although outcome for neonates with complex heart disease has improved in the last decade, thanks to advances in surgery and intensive care, survival in the subset that require extra-corporeal support remains unchanged at below 40%. Neonatal cardiac extra-corporeal support is a technically challenging therapy that is applied in a range of contexts including: post-operative low cardiac output syndrome, cardiac arrest, high-risk interventional catheterisation or as a bridge to recovery from dysrhythmia and myocarditis. Extra-corporeal life support has increased in particular for neonates with single ventricle disease in the last 5 years, mainly achieving similar results to biventricular patients. Further research is required in order to determine the optimal methods for patient selection and to establish important predictors of outcome including the longterm neurological development of survivors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: We aimed to improve the quality and safety of handover of patients from surgery to intensive care using the analogy of a Formula 1 pit stop and expertise from aviation. Methods: A prospective intervention study measured the change in performance before and after the implementation of a new handover protocol that was developed through detailed discussions with a Formula 1 racing team and aviation training captains. Fifty (23 before and 27 after) postsurgery patient handovers were observed. Technical errors and information omissions were measured using checklists, and teamwork was scored using a Likert scale. Duration of the handover was also measured. Results: The mean number of technical errors was reduced from 5.42 (95% CI ±1.24) to 3.15 (95% CI ±0.71), the mean number of information handover omissions was reduced from 2.09 (95% CI ±1.14) to 1.07 (95% CI ±0.55), and duration of handover was reduced from 10.8 min (95% CI ±1.6) to 9.4 min (95% CI ±1.29). Nine out of twenty-three (39%) precondition patients had more than one error in both technical and information handover prior to the new protocol, compared with three out of twnety-seven (11.5%) with the new handover. Regression analysis showed that the number of technical errors were significantly reduced with the new handover ( t = −3.63, P < 0.001), and an interaction suggested that teamwork ( t = 3.04, P = 0.004) had a different effect with the new handover protocol. Conclusions: The introduction of the new handover protocol lead to improvements in all aspects of the handover. Expertise from other industries can be extrapolated to improve patient safety, and in particular, areas of medicine involving the handover of patients or information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the proportion of neonates referred for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in the modern era of advanced conventional treatments for respiratory failure who actually had congenital heart disease (CHD), and to assess the impact of this diagnostic route on patient condition and outcome.Methods: A retrospective case-note review of neonatal ECMO and cardiac admissions to a single, tertiary ECMO and cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) between March 1999 and February 2002.Results: 287 symptomatic neonates presented to the ICU with previously undiagnosed cardiac or respiratory disease. Eighty-two with presumed respiratory failure were referred for ECMO, and 205 with suspected CHD were referred for cardiac evaluation. Eight (10%) ECMO referrals, all with presumed persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), were found to have CHD (transposition: 3; total anomalous pulmonary venous connection: 3; left heart obstructive lesions: 2). Mortality in this group was 50%, compared with 11% for correctly identified CHD patients (odds ratio 8.2, 95% CI 1.92, 35.4, p<0.01). For all neonates with CHD, the risk of death was increased by the presence of cardiovascular collapse and end-organ dysfunction at presentation to the ICU (p<0.01 for both).Conclusion: Neonates with CHD may present as severe "PPHN" via the ECMO service. Poor outcome in these patients relates to the high incidence of cardiovascular collapse and end-organ dysfunction. Early echocardiography is recommended for neonates with presumed PPHN. Neonatal ECMO support should be based in centres with cardiac surgical services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) was first used in neonatal practice in 1992 and has subsequently been used extensively in the management of neonates and children with cardiorespiratory failure. This paper assesses evidence for the use of iNO in this population as presented to a consensus meeting jointly organised by the European Society of Paediatric and Neonatal Intensive Care, the European Society of Paediatric Research and the European Society of Neonatology. Consensus Guidelines on the Use of iNO in Neonates and Children were produced following discussion of the evidence at the consensus meeting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]