Pediatric Cardiac Surgery

CHICAGO — Survival rates have almost doubled for children who experienced in-hospital cardiac arrest during the last 20 years, with the greatest gains in children who experienced cardiac arrest after cardiac surgery, researchers reported.

Balloon angioplasty and stent implantation procedures in the early postoperative period after congenital heart surgery are overall relatively safe and effective, data from a retrospective, single-center study show.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the waiting list times for pediatric heart transplants were longer than before the pandemic, but waiting list mortality did not change, according to a research letter published in JAMA Network Open.

A collaborative network of pediatric cardiac intensive care teams significantly decreased rates of in-hospital cardiac arrest over 18 months using a low-technology prevention practice bundle, independent of secular trends, data show.

Among pediatric cardiac transplant recipients who experience perioperative stroke, Black children are three times more likely to die beyond 6 months compared with white children, according to data from a registry analysis.

Texas Children’s Hospital was named the top hospital for pediatric cardiology and heart surgery in the 2022 to 2023 rankings by U.S. News & World Report for the sixth consecutive year.

Young children diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have a symptom burden and cardiac phenotype comparable with children presenting later in adolescence, suggesting similar management strategies are needed for preadolescent patients.

Charles D. Fraser Jr., MD, a congenital heart surgeon, has been named as the inaugural executive director of the Institute for Cardiovascular Health, according to a press release.

On Feb. 1, the first-in-human implantation of a novel miniaturized stent for infants and small children that can be expanded as they grew was performed at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

An infant believed to be the first to receive a combination heart transplant and allogeneic processed thymus tissue implant is gaining immune function 6 months after the procedures, potentially reducing the need for antirejection drugs.