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Closing the gap between acceptable and ideal in catheterisation for paediatric and congenital heart disease—A global view
- Ina Michel-Behnke, Raman Krishna Kumar, Robert Justo, Carlos Zabal, Audrey C. Marshall, Jeffrey Phillip Jacobs
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- Journal:
- Cardiology in the Young , First View
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 03 May 2024, pp. 1-8
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In recent issues of the Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions, Holzer and colleagues presented an Expert Consensus Document titled: “PICS / AEPC / APPCS / CSANZ / SCAI / SOLACI: Expert consensus statement on cardiac catheterization for pediatric patients and adults with congenital heart disease.” This Expert Consensus Document is a massively important contribution to the community of paediatric and congenital cardiac care. This document was developed as an Expert Consensus Document by the Pediatric and Congenital Interventional Cardiovascular Society, the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology, the Asia-Pacific Pediatric Cardiac Society, the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the Latin American Society of Interventional Cardiology, as well as the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.
As perfectly stated in the Preamble of this Expert Consensus Document, “This expert consensus document is intended to inform practitioners, payors, hospital administrators and other parties as to the opinion of the aforementioned societies about best practices for cardiac catheterisation and transcatheter management of paediatric and adult patients with congenital heart disease, with added accommodations for resource-limited environments.” And, the fact that the authorship of this Expert Consensus Document includes global representation is notable, commendable, and important.
This Expert Consensus Document has the potential to fill an important gap for this patient population. National guideline documents for specific aspects of interventions in patients with paediatric heart disease, including training guidelines, do exist. However, this current Expert Consensus Document authored by Holzer and colleagues provides truly globally applicable standards on cardiac catheterisation for both paediatric patients and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD).
Our current Editorial provides different regional perspectives from senior physicians dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care who are practicing in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, Australia/New Zealand, and North America. Establishing worldwide standards for cardiac catheterisation laboratories for children and adults with CHD is a significant stride towards improving the quality and consistency of care. These standards should not only reflect the current state of medical knowledge but should also be adaptable to future advancements, ultimately fostering better outcomes and enhancing the lives of individuals affected by CHD worldwide.
Ensuring that these standards are accessible and adaptable across different healthcare settings globally is a critical step. Given the variability in resources and infrastructure globally, the need exists for flexibility and tailoring to implement recommendations.
The potential impact of the Expert Consensus Document and its recommendations is likely significant, but heterogeneity of healthcare systems will pose continuing challenges on healthcare professionals. Indeed, this heterogeneity of healthcare systems will challenge healthcare professionals to finally close the gap between acceptable and ideal in the catheterisation of patients with paediatric and/or congenital heart disease.
Systemic rapamycin to prevent in-stent stenosis in peripheral pulmonary arterial disease: early clinical experience
- Anna Hallbergson, Jesse J. Esch, Trang X. Tran, James E. Lock, Audrey C. Marshall
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- Journal:
- Cardiology in the Young / Volume 26 / Issue 7 / October 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 28 December 2015, pp. 1319-1326
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Objectives
We have taken a novel approach using oral rapamycin – sirolimus – as a medical adjunct to percutaneous therapy in patients with in-stent stenosis and high risk of right ventricular failure.
BackgroundPeripheral pulmonary artery stenosis can result in right ventricular hypertension, dysfunction, and death. Percutaneous pulmonary artery angioplasty and stent placement acutely relieve obstructions, but patients frequently require re-interventions due to re-stenosis. In patients with tetralogy of Fallot or arteriopathy, the problem of in-stent stenosis contributes to the rapidly recurrent disease.
MethodsRapamycin was administered to 10 patients (1.5–18 years) with peripheral pulmonary stenosis and in-stent stenosis and either right ventricular hypertension, pulmonary blood flow maldistribution, or segmental pulmonary hypertension. Treatment was initiated around the time of catheterisation and continued for 1–3 months. Potential side-effects were monitored by clinical review and blood tests.
ResultsTarget serum rapamycin level (6–10 ng/ml) was accomplished in all patients; eight of the nine patients who returned for clinically indicated catheterisations demonstrated reduction in in-stent stenosis, and eight of the 10 patients experienced no significant side-effects. Among all, one patient developed diarrhoea requiring drug discontinuation, and one patient experienced gastrointestinal bleeding while on therapy that was likely due to an indwelling feeding tube and this patient tolerated rapamycin well following tube removal.
ConclusionsOur initial clinical experience supports that patients with peripheral pulmonary artery stenosis can be safely treated with rapamycin. Systemic rapamycin may provide a novel medical approach to reduce in-stent stenosis.
Monitoring the health of the work environment with a daily assessment tool: the REAL – Relative Environment Assessment Lens – indicator
- Karen E. Hinsley, Audrey C. Marshall, Michelle H. Hurtig, Jason M. Thornton, Cheryl A. O’Connell, Courtney L. Porter, Jean A. Connor, Patricia A. Hickey
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- Journal:
- Cardiology in the Young / Volume 26 / Issue 6 / August 2016
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 October 2015, pp. 1082-1089
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Background
Evidence shows that the health of the work environment impacts staff satisfaction, interdisciplinary communication, and patient outcomes. Utilising the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses’ Healthy Work Environment standards, we developed a daily assessment tool.
MethodsThe Relative Environment Assessment Lens (REAL) Indicator was developed using a consensus-based method to evaluate the health of the work environment and to identify opportunities for improvement from the front-line staff. A visual scale using images that resemble emoticons was linked with a written description of feelings about their work environment that day, with the highest number corresponding to the most positive experience. Face validity was established by seeking staff feedback and goals were set.
ResultsOver 10 months, results from the REAL Indicator in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory indicated an overall good work environment. The goal of 80% of the respondents reporting their work environment to be “Great”, “Good”, or “Satisfactory” was met each month. During the same time frame, this goal was met four times in the cardiovascular operating room. On average, 72.7% of cardiovascular operating room respondents reported their work environment to be “Satisfactory” or better.
ConclusionThe REAL Indicator has become a valuable tool in assessing the specific issues of the clinical area and identifying opportunities for improvement. Given the feasibility of and positive response to this tool in the cardiac catheterisation laboratory, it has been adopted in other patient-care areas where staff and leaders believe that they need to understand the health of the environment in a more specific and frequent time frame.
In situ fracture of stents implanted for relief of pulmonary arterial stenosis in patients with congenitally malformed hearts
- Doff B. McElhinney, Lisa Bergersen, Audrey C. Marshall
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- Journal:
- Cardiology in the Young / Volume 18 / Issue 4 / August 2008
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 01 August 2008, pp. 405-414
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Background
One of the most common uses of stents in patients with congenitally malformed hearts is treatment of pulmonary arterial stenosis. Although there are reports of fractured pulmonary arterial stents, little is known about the risk factors for, and implications of, such fractures.
MethodsWe reviewed angiograms to identify fractures in stents previously inserted to relieve stenoses in pulmonary arteries from 1990 through 2001 in patients who also underwent follow-up catheterization at least 3 years after placement of the stent. We undertook matched cohort analysis, matching a ratio of 2 fractured to 1 unfractured stent.
ResultsOverall, 166 stents meeting the criterions of our study had been placed in 120 patients. We identified fractures in 35 stents (21%) in 29 patients. All fractured stents were in the central pulmonary arteries, 24 (69%) in the central part of the right pulmonary artery, and all were complete axial fractures, or complex fractures along at least 2 planes. Stent-related factors associated with increased risk of fracture identified by multivariable logistic regression included placement in close apposition to the ascending aorta (p = 0.001), and a larger expanded diameter (p = 0.002). There was obstruction across 28 of 35 fractured stents, which was severe in 11. We re-stented 21 of the fractured stents, and recurrent fracture was later diagnosed in 3 of these. A fragment of the fractured stent embolized distally in 2 patients, without clinically important effects.
ConclusionsIn situ fracture of pulmonary arterial stents is relatively common, and in most cases is related to compression by the aorta. There is usually recurrent obstruction across the fractured stent, but fractured stents rarely embolize, and are not associated with other significant complications.
Acute and intermediate outcomes, and evaluation of injury to the aortic wall, as based on 15 years experience of implanting stents to treat aortic coarctation
- Athar M. Qureshi, Doff B. McElhinney, James E. Lock, Michael J. Landzberg, Peter Lang, Audrey C. Marshall
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- Journal:
- Cardiology in the Young / Volume 17 / Issue 3 / June 2007
- Published online by Cambridge University Press:
- 26 February 2007, pp. 307-318
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Background: Stenting for aortic coarctation has been shown to be effective in the short term. The safety and longer term efficacy of transcatheter therapy, however, must be well established if the technique is to be widely accepted as an alternative to surgery. In order to determine the frequency, spectrum, and outcome of injury to the aortic wall caused by angioplasty or stenting of aortic coarctation, the nomenclature of mural injury in these patients must be adapted to the conditions of transcatheter therapy. Methods and Results: Between 1989 and July 2005, we inserted stents in 153 patients with aortic coarctation, their median age being 15.8 years. Prior aortic interventions had been performed in 98 patients, and preexisting aneurysms were observed in 19. Stenting resulted in a significant reduction of the gradient across the site of coarctation, from a median of 30 millimetres of mercury to zero (p less than 0.001), with a residual gradient within the aortic arch of 20 millimetres of mercury or more in 5% of patients. Acute injuries to the aortic wall, other than therapeutic tears, were observed in 3 patients (2%), none of whom required surgery. At median follow-up of 2.5 years, this being more than 5 years in 30 patients, 4 patients had died, albeit none from complications relating to stenting or catheterization. Acute injuries to the aortic wall did not progress, and new aneurysms were observed in 6% of patients subsequent to follow-up imaging. Stent fractures, and jailed or partially covered brachiocephalic vessels, were observed in 12, and 49, patients, respectively, but did not result in haemodynamic or embolic complications. Conclusions: Stenting for aortic coarctation results in consistent relief of the gradient, and few serious complications in the short and intermediate term. Serious injuries to the aortic wall are uncommon in our experience, and can be minimized with a focus on technical measures, such as pre-dilation before stenting.