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Randall C Wetzel

Publications and source records attributed to Randall C Wetzel.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Gastrointestinal morbidity after Norwood palliation for hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Neonates with hypoplastic left heart syndrome are at high risk for developing gastrointestinal complications after first stage palliation. These complications likely play a major role in their morbidity and mortality. The goal of this review was to examine the incidence and clinical impact of gastrointestinal morbidities in these newborns. METHODS: The charts of all neonates with hypoplastic left heart syndrome who underwent stage-one palliation between January 1997 and December 2001 were reviewed to determine the incidence of gastrointestinal complications. Demographic, perioperative, and procedural variables were collected and correlated with major gastrointestinal problems. RESULTS: There were 117 patients in our study population, and survival to discharge was 87% (102 of 117). Gastrointestinal complications occurred in 48 (41%), including 18% with necrotizing enterocolitis, 18% who required home feeding tubes, and 8% who required prolonged hospital length of stay for nutritional support. These infants had a longer length of stay (52 days versus 22 days; p < 0.0001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that weight less than 2.5 kg and development of necrotizing enterocolitis were each independently related to death. Neonates with a birth weight less than 2.5 kg had an odds ratio for death of 5.7 (95% confidence interval: 1.14 to 28.86), and the odds ratio for death with necrotizing enterocolitis was 5.6 (95% confidence interval: 1.55 to 20.67). CONCLUSIONS: Gastrointestinal complications in infants with hypoplastic left heart syndrome are common, and necrotizing enterocolitis increases the risk of death. Measures directed at reducing the incidence of gastrointestinal complications may improve outcomes and reduce costs in this population.

Aorta, Thoracic↗
PubMed2005

Pressure-rate products and phase angles in children on minimal support ventilation and after extubation.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the pressure-rate products and phase angles of children during minimal support ventilation and after extubation. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective, randomized single-center trial in a pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary children's hospital. METHODS: Seventeen endotracheally intubated, mechanically ventilated children were placed on T-piece, T-piece with heliox, continuous positive airway pressure, and pressure support in random order. Esophageal pressure swings, phase angles, respiratory mechanics, and physiological parameters were measured on these modes and after extubation. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Pressure-rate product postextubation was significantly higher than on support modes. For each mode and after extubation they were: pressure support 198+/-31, continuous positive airway pressure 237+/-30, T-piece 323+/-47, T-piece/heliox 308+/-61, and extubation 378+/-43 cmH2O/min. Phase angles were significantly higher during T-piece ventilation than pressure support but not did not differ significantly from postextubation. CONCLUSIONS: Assessment of effort of breathing during even minimal mechanical ventilation may underestimate postextubation effort in children. Postextubation pressure-rate product and hence "effort of breathing" in children is best approximated by T-piece ventilation.

Child↗
PubMed2005

Cumulative fluid intake minus output is not associated with ventilator weaning duration or extubation outcomes in children.

OBJECTIVE: The effect of fluid balance on respiratory outcomes for critically ill children has not been evaluated. The only indicator of fluid balance routinely recorded across our intensive care units was estimated fluid intake and output. We sought to determine whether cumulative intake minus output (I-O) at the start of weaning predicted weaning duration and whether cumulative I-O at extubation predicted extubation failure. DESIGN: Prospective observational study. SETTING: Ten pediatric intensive care units. PATIENTS: Cumulative I-O was recorded daily for 301 mechanically ventilated children (<18 yrs of age) from November 1999 through April 2001. INTERVENTIONS: Cumulative I-O was recorded during a study of weaning strategies and extubation failure in which mechanical ventilation of the majority of patients during weaning and extubation was managed according to a protocol that did not include fluid balance indicators. Outcomes were the time to successful removal of ventilatory support and the rate of initial extubation failure. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Relationships between cumulative I-O and outcomes were assessed by means of proportional hazards and logistic regression. The mean cumulative I-O per kilogram of ideal body weight at the start of weaning was 101 mL (sd, 180). Cumulative I-O at the time weaning was initiated did not predict duration of mechanical ventilator weaning. The mean cumulative I-O per kilogram of ideal body weight at extubation was 136 mL (sd, 237). Cumulative I-O at extubation did not predict extubation outcome. There was an association between cumulative I-O at extubation and the duration of weaning in cases not managed by a protocol. CONCLUSION: Although routinely recorded, cumulative fluid I-O does not appear to have clinical utility in cases managed according to a mechanical ventilator protocol in which tidal volume and oxygenation on minimal levels of ventilator support are systematically tested.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Multiple trauma in children: critical care overview.

Multiple trauma is more than the sum of the injuries. Management not only of the physiologic injury but also of the pathophysiologic responses, along with integration of the child's emotional and developmental needs and the child's family, forms the basis of trauma care. Multiple trauma in children also elicits profound psychological responses from the healthcare providers involved with these children. This overview will address the pathophysiology of multiple trauma in children and the general principles of trauma management by an integrated trauma team. Trauma is a systemic disease. Multiple trauma stimulates the release of multiple inflammatory mediators. A lethal triad of hypothermia, acidosis, and coagulopathy is the direct result of trauma and secondary injury from the systemic response to trauma. Controlling and responding to the secondary pathophysiologic sequelae of trauma is the cornerstone of trauma management in the multiply injured, critically ill child. Damage control surgery is a new, rational approach to the child with multiple trauma. The selection of children for damage control surgery depends on the severity of injury. Major abdominal vascular injuries and multiple visceral injuries are best considered for this approach. The effective management of childhood multiple trauma requires a combined team approach, consideration of the child and family, an organized trauma system, and an effective quality assurance and improvement mechanism.

Acidosis↗