Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to reduce radiation exposure during pediatric central venous line (CVL) placement by implementing a radiation safety process including a radiation safety briefing and a job-instruction model with a preradiation time-out. METHODS:We reviewed records of all patients under 21 who underwent CVL placement in the operating room covering 22 months before the intervention through 10 months after 2013-2016. The intervention consisted of a radiation safety briefing by the surgeon to the intraoperative staff before each case and a radiation safety time-out. We measured and analyzed the dose area product (DAP), total radiation time pre- and postintervention, and the use of postprocedural chest radiograph. RESULTS:, P < 0.001) and a 73% decrease in the median radiation time (28 vs 7.6 s, P < 0.001). Additionally, there was a significant reduction in use of confirmatory CXR (95% vs 15%, P < 0.01). CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:A preoperative radiation safety briefing and a radiation safety time-out supported by a job-instruction model were effective in significantly lowering the absorbed doses of radiation in children undergoing CVL insertion. TYPE OF STUDY/METHODS:Case-control study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE/METHODS:Level III.

PURPOSE: Documenting surgical complications is limited by multiple barriers and is not fostered in the electronic health record. Tracking complications is essential for quality improvement (QI) and required for board certification. Current registry platforms do not facilitate meaningful complication reporting. We developed a novel web application that improves accuracy and reduces barriers to documenting complications. METHODS: We deployed a custom web application that allows pediatric surgeons to maintain case logs. The program includes a module for entering complication data in real time. Reminders to enter outcome data occur at key postoperative intervals to optimize recall of events. Between October 1, 2014, and March 31, 2015, frequencies of surgical complications captured by the existing hospital reporting system were compared with data aggregated by our application. RESULTS: 780 cases were captured by the web application, compared with 276 cases registered by the hospital system. We observed an increase in the capture of major complications when compared to the hospital dataset (14 events vs. 4 events). CONCLUSIONS: This web application improved real-time reporting of surgical complications, exceeding the accuracy of administrative datasets. Custom informatics solutions may help reduce barriers to self-reporting of adverse events and improve the data that presently inform pediatric surgical QI. TYPE OF STUDY: Diagnostic study/Retrospective study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I

Anorectal malformations (ARMs) commonly co-occur with other congenital anomalies, particularly VACTERL (vertebral, anorectal, cardiac, tracheal, esophageal, renal, limb, and duodenal) associations. However, this collection of associations is not comprehensive, and other concurrent anomalies may exist that can be missed during the standard work-up of patients with ARMs. We present a rare case of a neonate with a low ARM with concurrent jejuno-ileal atresia that was diagnosed after the correction of the ARM when the patient developed segmental volvulus. This case illustrates the importance of having a high index of suspicion when deviation from a classic presentation occurs.

Appendicitis remains the most common cause for emergency abdominal surgery in children. Immediate appendectomy in complicated, perforated appendicitis can be hazardous and nonoperative therapy has been gaining use as an initial therapy in children. Previous studies have reported failure rates in nonoperative therapy in such cases ranging from 10% to 41%. Factors leading to treatment failures have been studied with various and disparate results. We reviewed our institutional experience in treated complicated appendicitis, with focus on those initially managed nonoperatively. METHODS: Records of all children admitted with the diagnosis of perforated appendicitis to NYU Langone Medical Center and Bellevue Hospital Center from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2013 were reviewed. The diagnosis was made with ultrasound and/or computed tomography scan. Those with abscesses amenable to drainage underwent aspiration and drain placement by an interventional radiologist. Broad spectrum intravenous (IV) antibiotics were given until the patient became afebrile, pain free and tolerating a regular diet. Oral antibiotics were continued for an additional week and interval appendectomy was done eight weeks later. The primary outcome measure was treatment response with failure defined as those who did not improve or required readmission for additional IV antibiotics and/or early appendectomy. Multiple patient and treatment related variables, including those previously reported as predicting failure in nonoperative therapy, were studied. Continuous variables were reported as means +/- standard error and compared using 2-tailed unpaired t tests; nonparametric variables were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U tests. Categorical variables were reported as medians +/- interquartile ranges and compared using Chi-square testing. Statistical significance was accepted for p<.05. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients were identified as undergoing initial nonoperative therapy. Fifty-two (81%) were categorized as treatment successes being treated nonoperatively and 12 (19%) were failures. Variables showing no significance in predicting treatment failures included duration of symptoms, presence of appendicolith, presence of phlegmon, presence of abscess, initial white blood cell count, and SIRS (Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome) positive. The variables that predicted failure of nonoperative therapy vs. successes were presence of bandemia (75% vs. 40%, p=0.052) and small bowel obstruction on imaging (42% vs. 15%, p=0.052) and presence of bandemia >/=15% which was highly predictive of failure (67% vs. 4%, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Predicting which patients with complicated perforated appendicitis will respond well to nonoperative therapy may allow us to more effectively treat patients with complicated perforated appendicitis. In our study the presence of small bowel obstruction and bandemia, especially >/=15% correlated with treatment failure; this suggests that these select patients may need a modified treatment strategy.

PURPOSE: Quality improvement (QI) bundles have been widely adopted to reduce surgical site infections (SSI). Improvement science suggests when organizations achieve high-reliability to QI processes, outcomes dramatically improve. However, measuring QI process compliance is poorly supported by electronic health record (EHR) systems. We developed a custom EHR tool to facilitate capture of process data for SSI prevention with the aim of increasing bundle compliance and reducing adverse events. METHODS: Ten SSI prevention bundle processes were linked to EHR data elements that were then aggregated into a snapshot display superimposed on weekly case-log reports. The data aggregation and user interface facilitated efficient review of all SSI bundle elements, providing an exact bundle compliance rate without random sampling or chart review. RESULTS: Nine months after implementation of our custom EHR tool, we observed centerline shifts in median SSI bundle compliance (46% to 72%). Additionally, as predicted by high reliability principles, we began to see a trend toward improvement in SSI rates (1.68 to 0.87 per 100 operations), but a discrete centerline shift was not detected. CONCLUSION: Simple informatics solutions can facilitate extraction of QI process data from the EHR without relying on adjunctive systems. Analyses of these data may drive reductions in adverse events. Pediatric surgical departments should consider leveraging the EHR to enhance bundle compliance as they implement QI strategies.

Retropharyngeal abscesses are deep neck space infections that can lead to life-threatening airway emergencies and other catastrophic complications. Retropharyngeal abscesses demand prompt diagnosis and early establishment of a definitive airway when there is airway compromise. This can be difficult in an uncooperative patient. We present the case of a 12-year-old girl with mediastinitis and tracheal compression and anterior displacement from a large retropharyngeal and posterior mediastinal abscess secondary to traumatic esophageal perforation, who received successful awake nasal fiberoptic intubation. Anesthesiologists must be prepared for airway emergencies in uncooperative patients, especially children, but there is controversy concerning the use of sedation.

OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:This study evaluates the safety and efficacy of thoracoscopic lobectomy in infants and children. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:From January 1994 to November 2013, 347 patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobe resection at two institutions. All procedures were performed by or under the direct guidance of a single surgeon. Patients' ages ranged from 1 day to 18 years, and weights ranged from 2.8 to 78 kg. Preoperative diagnosis included sequestration/congenital pulmonary airway malformation (n=306), severe bronchiectasis (n=24), congenital lobar emphysema (n=13), and malignancy (n=4). RESULTS:Of the 347 procedures, 342 were completed thoracoscopically. Operative times ranged from 35 minutes to 240 minutes (average, 115 minutes). Average operative time when a trainee was the primary surgeon was 160 minutes. There were 81 upper, 25 middle, and 241 lower lobe resections. There were four intraoperative complications (1.1%) requiring conversion to an open thoracotomy. The postoperative complication rate was 3.3%, and 3 patients required re-exploration for a prolonged air leak. Hospital length of stay (LOS) ranged from 1 to 16 days (average). In patients <5 kg and <3 months of age, the average operative time was 90 minutes, and the LOS was 2.1 days. CONCLUSIONS:Thoracoscopic lung resection is a safe and efficacious technique. With proper mentoring it is an exportable technique, which can be performed by pediatric surgical trainees. The procedures are safe and effective even when performed in the first 3 months of life. Early resection avoids the risk of later infection and malignancy.

PURPOSE: To assess the efficacy and accuracy of ultrasonography (US) and selective computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis in children. METHODS: A retrospective review of all ultrasound evaluations for appendicitis from July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2010, was conducted at two urban pediatric centers. Beginning in 2003, a multi-disciplinary diagnostic protocol was implemented to reduce radiation exposure employing US as the initial imaging modality followed by CT for non-diagnostic US studies in patients with an equivocal clinical presentation. The imaging, operative findings, and pathology of 802 patients (365 females, 437 males, age less than 18years) with suspected appendicitis were reviewed. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and negative appendectomy rate of the protocol were analyzed. A telephone survey was conducted of patients discharged without a diagnosis of appendicitis to evaluate the missed appendicitis rate. RESULTS: Of the 601 pediatric appendectomies performed, a total of 275 (46%) were diagnosed by protocol. The selective protocol had a sensitivity of 94.2%, specificity of 97.5%, positive predictive value of 95.2%, and negative predictive value of 97.0%. The negative appendectomy rate was 1.82%, and the missed appendicitis rate was 0%. No patient discharged after only ultrasound evaluation without undergoing surgery reported missed appendicitis on the survey (41.7% response rate). Protocol use increased from 6.7% to 88.3%. US was the sole imaging modality in 630 of all 802 patients (78.6%). CONCLUSIONS: US followed by selective CT for the diagnosis of acute appendicitis is useful and accurate. This has important implications in the reduction of childhood radiation exposure.