Objective    To investigate the incidence, pathogens, risk factors and clinical outcomes for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in children after tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) surgical correction, in order to offer reliable data for the prevention of VAP. Methods    This was a retrospective study performed in Guangdong General Hospital and 181 children (121 males, 60 females, mean age of 11.2±10.4 months) undergoing surgical correction for TOF were included. ALL the children who received mechanical ventilation for 48 hours or longer between January 2013 and December 2017 were classified into a VAP group (n=44) and a non-VAP group (n=137). T test, χ2 test and multiple logistic regression analysis were used to identify the possible risk factors for VAP. Results    This study enrolled 181 patients , of which 44 were diagnosed as VAP. And the incidence of VAP was 24.3%. The most frequent isolated pathogen was Gram-negative bacteria (69.7%). Single factor analysis showed that the variables significantly associated with a risk factor of VAP were: hypoxic spells, preoperative pneumonia, preoperative mechanical ventilation support, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time, reintubation, pulmonary atelectasis, low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS), intra-abdominal drainage and transfusion of fresh frozen plasma. The multiple logistic regression showed CPB time (OR=1.011), reintubation (OR=14.548), pulmonary atelectasis (OR=6.139) and LCOS (OR=3.054) were independent risk factors for VAP in children after TOF surgical correction. Patients with VAP had prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation, a longer ICU stay and longer hospitalization time. Conclusions    The VAP rate in this population is higher than that reported abroad, which   leads to prolonged duration of mechanical ventilation and a longer hospital stay. The effective measures for prevention of VAP should be taken according to the related risk factors for VAP to decrease the incidence of VAP in children after TOF surgical correction.

Objective    To analyze the effect of modified Blalock-Taussig shunt on the treatment of cyanotic congenital heart diseases in neonates. Methods    The clinical data of 33 neonates undergoing modified Blalock-Taussig shunt between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2017 were reviewed, including 28 males and 5 females with the age of 3.0-28.0 (18.0±6.1) d and weight of 1.9-3.7 (2.9±0.5) kg. Results    There were 3 (9.1%) in-hospital deaths. Ten (30.3%) patients required early unplanned reoperations after surgery. Five (15.2%) patients were lost to follow-up. In the multivariate analysis, preoperative acidosis, emergency operation and postoperative bedside thoracotomy were independent risk factors of early death. During the follow-up of 18.0-93.0 (40.2±22.5) months, there was no death and 9 (36.0%) survival patients underwent corrective surgery and stage-two palliative surgery. In the multivariate analysis, preoperative hyperhemoglobinemia was an independent risk factor of nonadministration of the corrective surgery and stage-two palliative surgery. Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that preoperative hyperhemoglobinemia was significant in determining whether secondary surgery was possible. Conclusion    The modified Blalock-Taussig shunt is effective in promoting development of pulmonary arteries and preparing for the secondary surgery. The rate of mortality and postoperative complications after the neonatal modified Blalock-Taussig shunt remains high. The rate of secondary surgery is still low during follow-up.