BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in children, but existing analyses of inpatient care are limited to small single-institution series or focused registries representative of selected patient subgroups. We examined US national data on pediatric PH hospitalizations to determine trends in volume, demographics, procedures performed during admission, and resource utilization.

We show that GERD increases the risk for infection in CP patients after spine fusion. Prospective multicenter studies are necessary to further validate the predictive value of this risk factor.

The use of preoperative ACE inhibitors and ARBs in pediatric patients undergoing cardiac surgery did not significantly increase the incidence of hypotension after induction of anesthesia and did not increase significantly the vasoconstrictor requirements upon weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass; however, additional prospective studies are needed.

Comment by Christopher Stemland, MD Disclosure: The author declares no conflict of interest. REFERENCES 1. Hawn MT, Richman JS, Vick CC, et al. Timing of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis and the risk of surgical site infection. JAMA Surg. 2013;148(7): 649Y657.2. Canani RB, Cirillo P, Roggero P, et al. Therapy with gastric acid inhibitors increases the risk of acute gastroenteritis and community-acquired pneumonia in children.