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Introduction: More than 40,000 children undergo surgical interventions annually for the treatment of congenital heart defects. Intraoperative and postoperative vital sign monitoring is a cornerstone of pediatric care. Methods: A single‐arm prospective observational study was performed. Pediatric patients undergoing a procedure with a planned admission to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at Lurie Children's Hospital (Chicago, IL) were eligible for enrollment. Participant vital signs were monitored using standard equipment and an FDA‐cleared experimental device (ANNE®) consisting of a wireless patch positioned at the suprasternal notch and index finger or foot. The primary goal of the study was to assess real‐world feasibility of wireless sensors in pediatric patients with congenital cardiac defects. Results: A total of 13 patients were enrolled, ranging in age from 4 months to 16 years with a median age of 4 years. Overall, 54% (n = 7) were female and the most common anomaly in the cohort was an atrial septal defect (n = 6). The mean admission length was 3 days (range 2‐6), resulting in more than 1000 h of vital sign monitoring (⟩60,000 data points). Bland–Altman plots were generated for heart rate and respiratory rate to assess beat‐to‐beast differences between the standard equipment and the experimental sensors. Conclusions: Novel, wireless, flexible sensors demonstrated comparable performance to standard monitoring equipment in a cohort of pediatric patients with congenital cardiac heart defects undergoing surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Posterior fossa decompression for Chiari I Malformation is a common pediatric neurosurgical procedure. We sought to identify the impact of anesthesia‐related intraoperative complications on unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit and outcomes following posterior fossa decompression. Methods: Medical records of all patients <18 years who underwent surgery for Chiari I malformation between 1/1/09 and 1/31/21 at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago were included. Records were reviewed for patient characteristics, anesthesia‐related intraoperative complications, postoperative complications, and surgical outcomes. The primary outcome was the incidence of unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit, and the primary variable of interest was an anesthesia‐related intraoperative complication. Patient, surgical characteristics, and year of surgery were also compared between patients with and without an unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit, and a multi‐variable adjusted estimate of odds of unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit admission following an anesthesia‐related intraoperative complication was performed. Secondary outcomes included anesthesia factors associated with an anesthesia‐related intraoperative event, and postoperative complications and surgical outcomes between patients admitted to the intensive care unit and those who were not. Results: Two hundred ninety‐six patients with Chiari I Malformation were identified. Clinical characteristics associated with an unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit were younger age, American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) physical status >2 and an anesthesia‐related intraoperative complication. 29 anesthesia‐related intraoperative complications were observed in 25 patients (8.4%). Two of 25 patients (8%) with an anesthesia‐related intraoperative complication compared with 3 of 271 (1%) patients without anesthesia‐related intraoperative complication had an unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit, odds ratio 7.8 (95% CI 1.2–48.8, p =.010). When adjusted for age, sex, ASA physical status, presenting symptoms, concomitant syringomyelia, previous decompression surgery and year of surgery, the odds ratio for an unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit following an anesthesia‐related intraoperative complication was 5.9 (95% CI 0.51–59.6, p =.149). There were no differences in surgical outcomes between patients with or without an unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit. Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that although anesthesia‐related intraoperative complications during posterior fossa decompression are infrequent, they are associated with an increased risk of an unanticipated admission to the intensive care unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The aim of this study was to longitudinally evaluate the epidemiological characteristics of headaches in a school-based, community setting and to determine the impact of headache symptoms on the health of children. Methods: After institutional review board approval, a prospective cohort study was conducted at two Chicago public schools for a period of 6 months. Members of the research team surveyed both schools weekly for headache and other pain symptoms. The students rated each pain symptom on a 5-point scale from 0 (“not at all”) to 4 (“a whole lot”). Demographic information was collected at the time of enrollment, and all participants were asked to complete age-appropriate and validated pediatric surveys to assess the severity of concurrent somatic complaints, anxiety symptoms, functional limitations, and quality of life issues. Results: Of the participating children, 89.5% reported at least one headache during the study period. Females experienced more frequent headaches compared with males ( P < 0.05). Children reporting headaches had a significantly increased risk of experiencing other troubling somatic symptoms ( P < 0.05). Headache severity showed a moderate correlation with increased feelings of anxiety, functional disability, and a diminished quality of life ( P < 0.05). Conclusions: School-aged children commonly experience headaches. Children experiencing headaches are more likely to report other somatic symptoms, feelings of anxiety, functional limitations, and quality of life impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]