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Heidi J Dalton

Publications and source records attributed to Heidi J Dalton.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Update on extracorporeal life support 2004.

Since its beginnings in 1989, the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) Registry has collated and reported data on over 30,000 patients. The majority of patients entered into the Registry have been neonates with respiratory failure from meconium aspiration, persistent pulmonary hypertension, or congenital diaphragmatic hernia. These patients suffer from refractory hypoxemia; thus, this supportive technique came to be called "Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)" for its ability to provide excellent gas exchange. With advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment measures for neonatal respiratory failure, need for ECMO support has fallen from the peak of 1500 cases in the early 1990s to 800 cases annually. Sixty-six percent (over 19,000) of patients in the Registry are under the category of neonatal respiratory failure, with a 77% overall survival reported to discharge. The success of neonatal ECMO has led to expansion of the field to pediatric, cardiac, and adult patients. An average of 200 pediatric patients receive ECMO for respiratory failure per year with an overall survival of 55%. Adult respiratory failure patients form a smaller group, with less than 100 cases reported to the ELSO registry per year. Survival mirrors that noted in the pediatric ECMO population. The application of ECMO or related techniques continues to increase for cardiac failure across all age groups. Overall survival in cardiac patients ranges from 33% to 43%. A novel form of extracorporeal support is "ECPR" or ECMO during cardiac arrest. Bypass circuits and equipment can be set up and instituted within a very short period of time in this circumstance, thus the name "rapid deployment ECMO" has become associated with this form of support. Overall survival in the near-600 patients placed on ECMO during resuscitation is 40%.

Adolescent↗

Safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in children with severe sepsis.

OBJECTIVE: In a phase 3 trial, recombinant human activated protein C (drotrecogin alfa [activated]) significantly reduced mortality in adult patients with severe sepsis. We have now performed a preliminary analysis of the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in pediatric patients with severe sepsis. DESIGN AND SETTING: Open-label, nonrandomized, sequential, 2-part study conducted in 11 medical centers in the United States and United Kingdom. PATIENTS: Eighty-three pediatric patients with severe sepsis aged term newborn (>or=38 weeks' gestation) to <18 years old. INTERVENTION: In part 1, drotrecogin alfa (activated) was administered as escalating doses of 6, 12, 24, and 36 micro g/kg per hour for 6 hours for each patient (n = 21). In part 2, drotrecogin alfa (activated) was infused at a rate of 24 micro g/kg per hour for 96 hours in 62 patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Plasma clearance, plasma concentration, D-dimer, protein C, and antithrombin levels were measured, and adverse events were monitored. RESULTS: The trial enrolled 83 pediatric patients with severe sepsis, aged term newborn (>or=38 weeks' gestation) to <18 years. In part 1, a dose of 24 micro g/kg per hour produced steady-state plasma concentrations of activated protein C similar to those attained in equivalently dosed adult severe sepsis patients. For all pediatric patients dosed at 24 micro g/kg per hour, the median weight-normalized clearance was 0.45 L/hour/kg and the median steady-state concentration was 51.3 ng/mL. The mean plasma half-life was 30 minutes. Weight-normalized clearance in pediatric and adult patients did not differ significantly with age or weight. D-dimer levels decreased 26% from baseline to end of infusion. Baseline levels of protein C and antithrombin increased 79% and 24%, respectively, over the 96-hour treatment period in part 2. The incidence of serious bleeding during infusion and during the entire study period was 2.4% and 4.8%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients with severe sepsis manifest sepsis-induced coagulopathy including protein C deficiency comparable to that seen in adults with severe sepsis. The pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamic effects, and safety profile of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in pediatric patients are similar to those previously published for adult patients. A large, phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled study is ongoing to confirm these results and formally assess the safety and efficacy of drotrecogin alfa (activated) in children.

Adolescent↗

Comparison of intermittent versus continuous infusion of propofol for elective oncology procedures in children.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of administering propofol as a continuous infusion vs. bolus dosing in children undergoing ambulatory oncologic procedures in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). DESIGN: Prospective, randomized study. SETTING: Tertiary PICU in a university hospital. PATIENTS: Ambulatory oncology patients scheduled for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures with propofol anesthesia in the PICU were eligible for enrollment. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either continuous infusion or bolus administration of propofol in a protocol-driven manner. All patients received an initial bolus of 1.5 mg/kg, with additional 0.5 mg/kg doses until complete induction. Continuous infusions were started at 0.1 mg/kg/min and, if needed, increased 20% after a bolus of 0.5 mg/kg. Bolus group patients were given doses of 0.5 mg/kg if needed. Ramsay scores of < 5 were used as criteria for additional dosing. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Eighteen patients undergoing 40 separate procedures were enrolled during the study period. Twenty procedures each were performed with continuous or bolus administration of propofol. No differences were present between groups in demographic characteristics, induction dose and time, procedure and recovery times, or adverse events. All patients had adequate anesthesia and favorable satisfaction scores. More boluses were needed in the bolus group (8.5 +/- 4.6 vs. 5.4 +/- 2.9; p < .05). Average systolic blood pressure decreased more in the continuous infusion group (26.4% +/- 12 vs. 19.3% +/- 10; p < .05). Total propofol dose was higher in the continuous infusion group (8.0 mg/kg +/- 3.8 vs. 5.7 mg/kg +/- 2.4; p < .05). CONCLUSION: Both continuous and bolus administration of propofol provided conditions for conducting oncologic procedures that were satisfying to patients, their families, and physicians. Continuous infusions were associated with a larger total dose and greater decreases in systolic blood pressure. Physician preference is likely to dictate which method is used.

Adolescent↗

Pediatric critical care medicine: planning for our research future.

OBJECTIVE: To introduce to the pediatric critical care medicine community a new program in pediatric critical care medicine at the National Institutes of Health. DATA SOURCE: Summary of literature review and conference proceedings. DATA SYNTHESIS: At the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), a new program in pediatric critical care and rehabilitation research has been established in the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. The program is directed by a pediatric intensivist and is focused on developing research directed toward improving long-term outcomes in pediatric critical care and on incorporating pediatric rehabilitation medicine as a partner in this goal. To provide strategic direction for the new program, the NICHD sponsored a planning conference May 3-4, 2002, at the NICHD in Bethesda, MD. The conference invitees represented a broad range of pediatric critical care medicine clinical and research interests, expertise, and career stages. It also included individuals with expertise in rehabilitation research. CONCLUSION: The composition of the new program, including its link to physical medicine and rehabilitation, is discussed. In addition, recommendations by the conference participants and program director are provided to foster the development of more randomized, controlled clinical trials and to develop successful clinician scientists in pediatric critical care medicine.

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MultiCenter outcome of pediatric oncology patients requiring intensive care.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the intensive care outcome of pediatric cancer patients between 1996 and 1998. The study comprised 20 pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) and 802 patients with cancer requiring PICU care. Patients with a history of cancer were identified from PICUs participating in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Evaluations program. Their demographics, resource requirements, and outcomes were compared with those of noncancer patients. Cancer patients comprised 3.3% (802/24,431) of PICU admissions. Overall PICU survival was not different between cancer and noncancer patients (95% vs. 96%, p =.2). Cancer patients were older (99 +/- 3 vs. 72 +/- 1 months, p <.001), had similar gender distributions, and had similar lengths of stay (3.3 +/- 0.2 vs. 3.9 +/- 0.1 days, p =.98). The majority (72%) were admitted to the PICU for postoperative care; PICU survival in these patients was 100, 100, and 71% for those not receiving mechanical ventilation or vasoactive agent infusion, those receiving either mechanical ventilation or vasoactive agent infusion, and those receiving both, respectively. PICU survival in nonoperative patients was 87% overall; survival for those requiring ventilation, vasoactive infusions, or both was 93, 89 and 46%. Overall hospital survival was 99% in operative cancer patients and 81% in nonoperative patients (p =.004, operative vs. nonoperative patients). Pediatric cancer patients receiving intensive care do well overall. Outcomes have substantially improved and, in general, the diagnosis of cancer should not limit the provision of intensive care. Additionally, resource use in terms of lengths of stay in the PICU is not different between cancer and noncancer patients.

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Pediatric trauma: postinjury care in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Traumatic injuries occur in > 20 million children each year and are the leading source of death in children over the age of 1 yr. Mechanisms of injury and subsequent therapies for critically injured children are diverse. This review will focus on resources and management strategies for caring for the severely injured child in the pediatric intensive care unit.

Adolescent↗