Very low birth weight preterm infants are under significant risk of neurologic, developmental, and somatic problems. In this study, 90 infants born with a birth weight <1500 g and/or with a gestational age <32 weeks were evaluated after the first year of elementary school to assess neurodevelopment. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) test, Pediatric Symptom Checklist, and Parent Evaluation of Developmental Status were performed. Mental retardation, cerebral palsy, blindness, epilepsy, and posthemorrhagic hydrocephaly incidences were 14%, 7%, 2%, 5%, and 2%, respectively. The WISC-R score of 32 patients (35.5%) were below 85. Perinatal asphyxia, abnormal neurologic examination, and delayed or impaired speech correlated significantly with low WISC-R scores. Education and income of the father had positive impact on WISC-R scores (P = .042 and P = .026). Parents' concern and presence of cognitive problems were correlated (P = .026). Environmental factors, as well as the prevention of morbidity, affected school performance positively.

This prospective, observational, single-center study aimed to determine the perioperative predictors of early extubation (<24 h after cardiac surgery) in a cohort of children undergoing cardiac surgery. Children aged between 1 month and 18 years who were consecutively admitted to pediatric intensive care unit after cardiac surgery for congenital heart disease between January 2012 and June 2014. Ninety-nine patients were qualified for inclusion during the study period. The median duration of mechanical ventilation was 20 h (range 1-480), and 64 patients were extubated within 24 h. Four of them failed the initial attempt at extubation, and the success rate of early extubation was 60.6 %. Older patient age (p = .009), greater body weight (p = .009), absence of preoperative pulmonary hypertension (p = .044), lower RACHS-1 category (OR, 3.8; 95 % CI 1.35-10.7; p < .05), shorter cardiopulmonary bypass (p = .008) and cross-clamp (p = .022) times, lower PRISM III-24 (p < .05) and PELOD (p < .05) scores, lower inotropic score (p < .05) and vasoactive-inotropic score (p < .05), and lower number of organ failures (OR, 2.26; 95 % CI 1.30-3.92; p < .05) were associated with early extubation. Our study establishes that early extubation can be accomplished within the first 24 h after surgery in low- to medium-risk pediatric cardiac surgery patients, especially in older ones undergoing low-complexity procedures. A large prospective multiple institution trial is necessary to identify the predictors and benefits of early extubation and to facilitate defined guidelines for early extubation.

Percutaneous device closure of atrial septal defect (ASD) is now considered the choice of treatment. Numerous devices with advantages/disadvantages are currently available and under development. Cardia Ultrasept II ASD occluder has a nitinol frame covered with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membrane. Here, a well-documented case of early malfunction of PVA membrane detected in the first week of implantation in a 4-year-old male patient, who underwent an uneventful device closure with 20 mm Cardia Ultrasept II ASD Occluder, is presented. One week after implantation left-to-right shunt through the device was detected and the explantation of device revealed PVA membrane with multiple perforations.

This study was conducted to evaluate the changes in BP and LVH after the transplantation and to evaluate the effect of BP changes in LVH. Forty-three pediatric renal transplant patients, with a mean age of 16.99 ± 3.88 years, were enrolled in this study. Twenty-three (53.5%) of the patients were male. Medical records for pretransplantation period (closest to the time of transplantation) and for post-transplantation period (9-12 months after transplantation) were reviewed. All the patients had BP measurements and echocardiographic evaluation in pre- and post-transplantation period. Hypertension was defined as an average systolic and/or diastolic BP that is ≥95th percentile for sex, age, and height. Although the number of patients with hypertension increased from 30 (69.76%) to 35 (81.4%), the number of patients with LVH decreased from 19 (44.1%) to 9 (20.9%) after the transplantation. Although the only significant difference in BP measurements was between the mean Z scores of 24 hour and nighttime mean DBP before and after the transplantation; the mean LVMI, and the prevalence of LVH was significantly lower after the transplantation. There was no significant correlation between the LVMI and the BP measurements. Even though hypertension may persist, there is significant improvement in LVH after renal transplantation.