Objectives We sought to identify risk factors for mortality and morbidity during the Norwood hospitalization in newborn infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome and other single right ventricle anomalies enrolled in the Single Ventricle Reconstruction trial. Methods Potential predictors for outcome included patient- and procedure-related variables and center volume and surgeon volume. Outcome variables occurring during the Norwood procedure and before hospital discharge or stage II procedure included mortality, end-organ complications, length of ventilation, and hospital length of stay. Univariate and multivariable Cox regression analyses were performed with bootstrapping to estimate reliability for mortality. Results Analysis included 549 subjects prospectively enrolled from 15 centers; 30-day and hospital mortality were 11.5% (63/549) and 16.0% (88/549), respectively. Independent risk factors for both 30-day and hospital mortality included lower birth weight, genetic abnormality, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and open sternum on the day of the Norwood procedure. In addition, longer duration of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest was a risk factor for 30-day mortality. Shunt type at the end of the Norwood procedure was not a significant risk factor for 30-day or hospital mortality. Independent risk factors for postoperative renal failure (n = 46), sepsis (n = 93), increased length of ventilation, and hospital length of stay among survivors included genetic abnormality, lower center/surgeon volume, open sternum, and post-Norwood operations. Conclusions Innate patient factors, ECMO, open sternum, and lower center/surgeon volume are important risk factors for postoperative mortality and/or morbidity during the Norwood hospitalization.

Low weight at the time of surgical intervention is associated with increased mortality in patients undergoing several types of cardiovascular procedures. These data do not allow assessment of specific risks or benefits of any particular treatment strategy. However, they do support the need for prospective analysis of specific treatment strategies for these high-risk patients.

Background-Children undergoing congenital heart surgery often receive corticosteroids with the aim of reducing the inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary bypass; however, the value of this approach is unclear. Corticosteroids were associated with longer length of stay (least square mean difference, 2.18 days; 95% confidence interval, 1.62 to 2.74 days), greater infection (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.10 to 1.46), and greater use of insulin (odds ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 2.24 to 2.67). There was no difference in duration of ventilation. In analysis stratified by RACHS-1 category, no significant benefit was seen in any group, and the association of corticosteroids with increased morbidity was most prominent in RACHS-1 categories 1 through 3. Conclusion-In this observational analysis of children undergoing congenital heart surgery, we were unable to demonstrate a significant benefit associated with corticosteroids and found that corticosteroids may be associated with increased morbidity, particularly in lower-risk patients. (Circulation. 2010;122:2123-2130.) Methods and Results-The

CD10 (CALLA) antigen is expressed in a wide variety of epithelial and nonepithelial tissues, but its most significant application is in the diagnosis and classification of certain types of malignant lymphoma and leukemia. CD10 is expressed in a high percentage of cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), follicular lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma, and some hematopoietic tumors. Although the antigen is not lineage specific, CD10 expression is widely used to define subgroups within B-ALL and is a useful tool for detecting the presence of leukemic blasts in the bloodstream. Currently available monoclonal antibodies to CD10 have been found to be effective only in fresh-frozen tissue and for techniques such as flow cytometry. We have used a recombinant protein corresponding to the whole of CD10 to generate a monoclonal antibody that is effective in paraffin-embedded tissue sections. We have used this antibody to assay for the presence of CD10 on a range of normal and pathological tissues. Strong staining was seen in lymphoid germinal centers, renal tubules, glomeruli, syncytiotrophoblast, hepatic parenchymal canaliculi, B-lineage ALL, follicle center cell lymphoma, and a proportion of cases of large-B-cell lymphoma. We believe that this antibody will be of value in the characterization of malignant lymphoma, in particular the differential diagnosis of small-B-cell lymphoma and subtyping of lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as the investigation of the significance of expression of CD10 in other normal and pathological tissues.

Objective This pilot study assesses the degree of hemolysis induced by cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and determines its association with acute kidney injury (AKI) in pediatric patients. Further, it evaluates the degree to which the use of urinary biomarkers neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) and cystatin C correlate with the presence of AKI and hemolysis following CPB. Design Prospective observational study Setting A 13-bed pediatric cardiac intensive care unit in a university hospital Patients Children undergoing cardiac surgery with the use of CPB Interventions None Measurements and Main Results Blood and urine samples were obtained at multiple time points before and after CPB. Hemolysis was assessed by measuring levels of plasma hemoglobin and haptoglobin. AKI was defined as a doubling in serum creatinine from preoperative baseline and by using the pediatric-modified RIFLE criteria. Urinary NGAL and Cystatin C levels were measured. A total of 40 patients (range: 3 days to 4.8 years) were enrolled. Plasma hemoglobin levels increased markedly on separation from CPB with a concurrent decrease in haptoglobin. This was associated with an increase in protein oxidation in the plasma. Hemolysis was more evident in younger patients with a longer duration of bypass and in those requiring a blood-primed circuit. 40% of patients had a doubling in serum creatinine and 88% of patients developed acute kidney injury when defined by the pediatric-modified RIFLE criteria. Controlling for CPB time, persistently elevated levels of plasma hemoglobin were associated with a 5 fold increase in AKI. Further, urinary NGAL measured 2 hours after separation from CPB was associated with AKI and with elevations in plasma hemoglobin. Conclusions CPB in pediatric patients results in significant hemolysis, which is associated with the development of AKI. The biomarker NGAL correlates with both AKI and hemolysis in this population.

Background-Clinical success with modern heart transplantation (HT) has led to the development of an alternate list (AL) HT strategy, matching marginal cardiac allografts with recipients who do not meet standard criteria for HT. Marginal allografts may be at an increased risk for primary graft dysfunction (PGD), the leading cause of early mortality after HT. 1 The incidence of PGD in AL HT relative to standard list (SL) HT has not been evaluated, and may contribute to the greater mortality associated with AL HT.2 The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of and predictors for PGD. Methods and Results-A retrospective analysis was performed on 260 consecutive adult patients undergoing either SL HT (nϭ207) or AL HT (nϭ53) at our institution from 1/2000 to 1/2005. PGD was defined by requirement for mechanical circulatory support immediately post-HT or more broadly as the need for either mechanical support or high-dose inotrope (epinephrine Ն0.07 g/kg/min). Donor hearts allocated to AL recipients were turned down for SL HT for reasons that included coronary disease, left ventricular dysfunction or hypertrophy, and high-dose inotropic requirement. AL HT recipients were significantly older, with a higher proportion of diabetes mellitus and ischemic cardiomyopathy. Both groups experienced a similar incidence of significant rejection, but overall mortality was higher in the AL HT group. 2 The incidence of PGD did not differ between AL and SL HT recipients. Pre-transplant VAD and prolonged total ischemic times (Ն4.5hours) were independent predictors of PGD. Conclusion-Select

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Background Congenital heart disease consumes significant health care resources; however, there are limited data regarding factors impacting resource utilization. The purpose of this study was to evaluate variation between centers in total hospital costs for four congenital heart operations of varying complexity, and associated factors. Methods and Results The Premier Database was used to evaluate total cost in children undergoing isolated atrial septal defect (ASD) repair, ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair, tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair, or arterial switch operation (ASO) from 2001-2007. Mixed models were used to evaluate the impact of center on total hospital costs adjusting for patient and center characteristics and length of stay (LOS). A total of 2,124 patients were included: 719 ASD (19 centers), 792 VSD (20 centers), 420 TOF (17 centers), and 193 ASO (13 centers). Total cost increased with complexity of operation from median $12,761 (ASD repair) to $55,430 (ASO). In multivariable analysis, models which accounted for center effects vs. those which did not performed significantly better for all four surgeries (all p ≤ 0.01). The proportion of total cost variation explained by center was 19% (ASD repair), 11% (VSD repair), 6% (TOF repair), and 3% (ASO). Higher volume centers had significantly lower hospital costs for ASD and VSD repair, but not for TOF repair and ASO. Conclusions Total hospital costs varied significantly by center for all congenital heart surgeries evaluated, even after adjustment for patient and center characteristics and LOS. Differences among centers were most prominent for lower complexity procedures.