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Biomedical subjects

Victor C Baum

Publications and source records attributed to Victor C Baum.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Pediatric cardiac surgery: an historical appreciation.

Many of the early, classic pediatric cardiac surgical operations were named after their originators. Some of these continue to be performed in the original form, many in modified form and some are obsolete. The development of many of these important early operations is reviewed and they are placed in the context of their times.

Anesthesia↗

Are we improving after 10 years of humanitarian paediatric cardiac assistance?

BACKGROUND: Paediatric cardiovascular services are frequently absent or poorly developed in many countries around the world. Our foundation made 83 trips in support of cardiovascular services between April 1993 and March 2003 to help alleviate this problem. In this study, we present an analysis of our results over these period of 10 years. METHODS: We performed a review of all available records relating to the trips, including patient databases, audited financial statements, donated product inventory lists, lists of team members, and follow-up data from the host sites concerning the state of the patients treated. RESULTS: We made 83 trips to 14 countries, 40 of these being in Central Europe, 5 in Eastern Europe, 10 in Caribbean, and Central America, 18 in South America, 9 in Asia, and 1 in the Middle East. In the first 5 years, we made 23, as opposed to 60 in the second 5 years, this difference being significant (p less than 0.01). The total number of primary operations performed over 10 years was 1,580. The number of procedures performed yearly increased over the two intervals from 97.0 plus or minus 32.7 to 219.0 plus or minus 41.7, p less than 0.002. The probability of survival between the periods increased from 84.6 to 93.3 per cent, and this was also significantly different (p less than 0.001). Overall, the rate of survival for the period of 10 years was 90.5 per cent. Moreover, the value of services donated to support each trip also differed significantly, decreasing from 105,900 dollars plus or minus 14,581 dollars for the first period to 54,617 dollars plus or minus 11,425 dollars for the second period (p less than 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Improving paediatric cardiac services in under-served countries requires significant financial and personnel commitments, but can produce reasonable outcomes.

Altruism↗

Very early extubation in children after cardiac surgery.

OBJECTIVE: Very early extubation of children after cardiac surgery has been suggested as a safe alternative to prolonged postoperative intubation but is still not common practice. Studies of early extubation in children may not have described reasons for failure to extubate, or have included nonbypass or only low-risk repairs. We present our experience with very early extubation in an inclusive group of children after cardiac surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: University hospital operating room and pediatric intensive care unit (ICU). PATIENTS: A total of 102 consecutive children (age <18 yrs) undergoing cardiac surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. MAIN RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were extubated early (88% in the operating room, 12% on arrival in ICU). Patients extubated late were younger (13.8 +/- 26.2 vs. 47.6 +/- 44.5 months), smaller (8.1 +/- 10.7 vs.17.5 +/- 14.2 kg), and had higher ASA scores than patients extubated early (p <.001 for all). The youngest patient extubated early was 2 months old (range, 2-192 months). Paco2 on ICU arrival was higher in the early extubation group (52.4 +/- 6.9 vs. 41.2 +/- 14.7 mm Hg [7.0 +/- 0.9 vs. 5.5 +/- 2.0 kPa], p <.001), and pH was lower (7.27 +/- 0.04 vs. 7.37 +/- 0.16, p <.001). Use of subarachnoid morphine did not affect ability to extubate early. No patients in the early extubation group required special airway support, reintubation, or increased inotropic support after ICU admission. CONCLUSIONS: Successful early extubation of even young children is possible and easily accomplished in most children undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass, even with complex procedures, but advantages of extubation in the operating room vs. immediate ICU extubation remain unclear. Transient mild-to-moderate mixed acidosis is common and requires no treatment. Full implementation requires acceptance by surgical and ICU staffs.

Adolescent↗