Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Modificaciones en las perspectivas de los médicos sobre el registro médico electrónico: investigación cualitativa longitudinal Changes in physicians' attitudes to computerized ambulatory medical record systems: a longitudinal qualitative study

Objetivos: Conocer las creencias de los médicos sobre un registro médico electrónico para la atención ambulatoria en diferentes etapas del proceso de implementación del sistema. Métodos: Investigación cualitativa longitudinal basada en entrevistas en profundidad (desde julio de 2001 hasta diciembre de 2003), desarrolladas en el Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (Argentina). Se entrevistó a 20 cardiólogos de atención ambulatoria con perfiles profesionales diversos (muestreo intencional) antes, durante y al finalizar la implementación del sistema (10 entrevistas por etapa). El análisis fue realizado por 2 investigadores independientes y las categorías refinadas conjuntamente. Resultados: Antes y durante la primera etapa de la implementación los médicos esperaban que el sistema mejorara los procesos administrativos de la atención y la disponibilidad de los datos individuales que cada uno había registrado en consultas anteriores, pero no imaginaban que la información colectiva pudiera modificar los aspectos médicos de la atención. Al finalizar la implementación, en cambio, percibieron que el sistema les permitía acceder a una visión integral del paciente que modificaba el desempeño profesional. Durante la implementación, los médicos opusieron el contacto con el paciente a la interacción con el ordenador, oposición que les impide categorizar su uso como parte del acto médico y considerar los datos del sistema como signos directos del paciente. Conclusiones: Con la implementación, los médicos modificaron su perspectiva sobre el registro médico electrónico, llegando a percibirlo como un auxiliar para la práctica médica. El valor que se asigna al sistema depende de su relevancia dentro del marco institucional.Objectives: To explore physicians' beliefs about a computerized ambulatory medical record system at different stages of its implementation. Methods: We performed a longitudinal qualitative in-depth interview study (July 2001 to December 2003) in the Hospital Italiano, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 20 primary care cardiologists purposively selected before, during and after the system's implementation process (10 interviews per stage). The interviews were independently analyzed by 2 researchers, who jointly designed an agreed category list. Results: Both before and during the first stage of the implementation process, the physicians expected that that the system would improve healthcare-related administration and increase accessibility to individual data. However, they did not foresee that the system's shared information could modify the clinical aspects of patient care. By the end of the implementation process, the physicians realized that the system provided them with a broader perspective on their patients, which in turn improved their own professional performance. Throughout the implementation, the physicians were against using the computer while the patient was present. This opposition prevented them from regarding the system as part of the medical consultation and from considering data from the system as direct patient-related signs. Conclusions: The system's implementation modified the physicians' views on computerized ambulatory medical records, as they eventually considered them as an ancillary tool to clinical activity. The value assigned to the system depends on its relevance within the institutional framework

Usefulness of strain cardiac magnetic resonance for the exposure of mild left ventricular systolic abnormalities in pectus excavatum

Background: Systolic dysfunction in pectus excavatum (PEX) is usually very subtle and mainly focused on the right ventricle (RV), leading to normal or unremarkable cardiac imaging findings unless involving exercise stress. Objectives: We evaluated systolic function in PEX using longitudinal strain cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR), a validated parameter for the assessment of the systolic deformation of subendocardial fibers. Methods: This prospective registry comprised consecutive patients with PEX who were referred to CMR to define treatment strategies or to establish surgical candidacy. We also included a control group of 15 healthy volunteers without chest wall abnormalities. Using dedicated software, we evaluated the endocardial global longitudinal strain (GLS) of both ventricles and the endocardial global circumferential strain (GCS) of the left ventricle (LV). Results: A total of 50 patients with PEX comprised the study population, with a mean age of 19.9 ± 8.0 years. The right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) of patients with PEX was significantly lower compared to the control group both at end-expiration (59.5 ± 6.8 vs. 64.7 ± 4.7%, p = 0.008) and end-inspiration (56.7 ± 7.2%, vs. 62.7 ± 4.4, p = 0.004); as well as the pulmonary stroke distance (12.6 ± 2.5, vs. 15.0 ± 2.0 cm, p = 0.001). The LV volumetric analysis revealed no differences between PEX and the control group (p > 0.05 for all) regardless of the respiratory cycle, with a mean expiratory LV ejection fraction (LVEF) of 61.4 ± 6.0%. In contrast, the GLS of the LV was significantly lower in PEX compared to controls (-21.2 ± 3.2 vs. -23.7 ± 3.0%, p = 0.010), whereas GCS was similar either at expiration (-28.5 ± 4.0%, vs. -29.5 ± 2.8, p = 0.38) or inspiration (-29.3 ± 4.1%, vs.-28.9 ± 2.3, p = 0.73). Conclusions: In this study, we demonstrated that longitudinal strain analysis might enable the detection of very subtle left ventricular systolic function abnormalities in patients with PEX, that are commonly overlooked using the conventional assessment. Level of evidence: IIFil: Rodriguez Granillo, Gaston Alfredo. Clinica La Sagrada Familia; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto Alberto C. Taquini de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional - Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas "Prof. Dr. Alberto C. Taquini". Instituto Alberto C. Taquini de Investigaciones en Medicina Traslacional; ArgentinaFil: Toselli, Luzia. Fundación Hospitalaria Mother and Child Medical Center; ArgentinaFil: Farina, Juan. Mayo Clinic Cancer Center; Estados UnidosFil: Raggio, Ignacio. Swiss Medical Group; Argentina. Centro de Educación Médica e Investigaciones Clínicas "Norberto Quirno"; ArgentinaFil: Diluca, Pablo. Clinica La Sagrada Familia; ArgentinaFil: Fontana, Lucia. Clinica La Sagrada Familia; ArgentinaFil: Valle Anziani, Maxroxia. Fundación Hospitalaria Mother and Child Medical Center; ArgentinaFil: Bordoli, Ines. Clinica La Sagrada Familia; ArgentinaFil: Bellia-Munzon, Gaston. Fundación Hospitalaria Mother and Child Medical Center; ArgentinaFil: Martínez Ferro, Marcelo. Fundación Hospitalaria Mother And Child Medical Center; Argentin