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This retrospective study reviews our results regarding the long-term support in pediatric patients using two ventricular assist systems between January 2008 and April 2014. We implanted the Berlin Heart EXCOR in 29 patients (median age 3.4 years [interquartile range (IQR) 0.2-16.5], median weight 13 kg [IQR 4.2-67.2]). Twenty-two patients (75.8%) received a left ventricular assist device. Three patients (10.3%) had single-ventricle physiology. One patient (3.4%) had mechanical mitral valve prosthesis. The HeartWare System was implanted in nine patients. The median age was 15.6 years (IQR 12.2-17.9), and the median weight was 54.9 kg (IQR 27.7-66). In the Berlin Heart group, the median support time was 65 days (IQR 4-619), with 3647 days of cardiac support. Nineteen patients (65.5%) were transplanted, six patients (20.7%) recovered, one patient (3.4%) is on support, and three patients (10.3%) died on support. Survival rate was 89.7%. Fourteen blood pumps had been exchanged. Four patients (13.8%) had local signs of infection, and three patients (10.3%) had neurological complications. In the HeartWare group, the median support time was 180 days (IQR 1-1124), with 2839 days of cardiac support. Four patients (44.4%) had local signs of infection, and three (33.3%) had neurological complications. Eight patients (88.9%) have been transplanted, and one patient (11.1%) died on support. Survival rate was 88.9%. Excellent survival is possible after long-term mechanical circulatory support in patients with two- and single-ventricle physiology with a low rate of adverse events.

Developmental immaturities in neonatal host defense predispose the neonates to an increased mortality rate during bacterial infections. Early diagnosis is of great clinical importance, but, especially in neonates, is sometimes very difficult. The ability to generate reactive oxygen species, the so-called respiratory burst, is essential for neutrophils to kill infectious microorganisms. Therefore, changes of respiratory burst may reflect increased susceptibility of neonates to infections and may be useful for the early detection of infections. Superoxide anion production was determined by a flow cytometric method using dihydrorhodamine 123 (DHR) as an oxidative probe after priming of neutrophils with PBS buffer (spontaneous burst), with N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), or with Escherichia coli. During the study period, the spontaneous percentage of activated cells in whole blood as well as the percentage of activated cells in stimulation with fMLP was lower in adults (n = 100; PBS, 1.0 +/- 0.1%; fMLP, 8.3 +/- 0.9%) compared with neonates without signs of infection (n = 143). Among the latter, the percentage of activated cells (PBS and fMLP assay) varied with respect to gestational age and hours of life: lowest values were measured in preterm newborns with gestational age less than 32 wk and between 25 and 120 h of life. The same correlation to gestational age was true for total neutrophil cell counts. In neonates with increased levels of C-reactive protein during the first 5 d of life (n = 43), the percentages of activated cells after PBS and fMLP incubation were higher than those of neonates without signs of infection. The relationship of neutrophil respiratory burst and neutrophil cell counts to gestational age might reflect at least in part a reason for the increased susceptibility of neonates to infections. Furthermore, determination of respiratory burst may prove to be a new laboratory parameter of neonatal infection.

The neonate is uniquely susceptible to severe and overwhelming bacterial infections. One of the most important deficits in the neonatal host defense system seems to be a quantitative and qualitative deficiency of the myeloid and the phagocytic system. Future optimal therapy of neonatal sepsis may include the use of adjuvant immunologic therapy. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) has been shown to induce neutrophilia and to enhance mature effector neutrophil function. To evaluate the role of G-CSF with respect to infection, we examined serum levels of G-CSF in term and preterm neonates, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method. G-CSF levels in healthy neonates showed peak levels up to 7 hours after birth, followed by an increase in total neutrophil cell (TNC) counts. Both G-CSF levels determined between 4 and 7 hours after birth and peak TNC counts correlated with the gestational age of the neonates. The state of nutrition, maternal treatment with glucocorticoids, maternal infection and hypertension, and the mode of delivery influenced peak G-CSF levels. Neonates with signs of infection between 4 and 7 hours after birth had higher levels of G-CSF than did healthy neonates (1,312 +/- 396 pg/mL v 176 +/- 19 pg/mL). In conclusion, the presented results of serum concentrations of G-CSF in relation to TNC counts and various diseases suggests an important role of G-CSF in the regulation of granulopoiesis during the neonatal period.