Experiences With Aggressive Cardiac Rehabilitation in Pediatric Patients Receiving Mechanical Circulatory Supports.
Although some patients with fulminant myocarditis can be rescued owing to the improvements in mechanical circulatory support therapy, there are few reports providing evidence of cardiac rehabilitation during mechanical circulatory supports, particularly among pediatric patients. We treated two pediatric patients who underwent aggressive cardiac rehabilitation during mechanical support. Five days after the initiation of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy aggressive cardiac rehabilitation was started in a 10-year-old girl with fulminant myocarditis. After explantation of the device, she was discharged on postoperative day 23. A 6-year-old girl with fulminant myocarditis started receiving cardiac rehabilitation two days after the initiation of an extracorporeal left ventricular assist device, despite having hemiplegia due to a recent broad stroke. She achieved an exercise capacity of supported walking for 280 meters after 127 days of cardiac rehabilitation and then went abroad to undergo heart transplantation when she was in the best physical condition possible. Early initiation of cardiac rehabilitation may be safe and effective for successful pediatric mechanical circulatory support therapy; this acts as a bridge to explantation or heart transplantation.
Department of Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo.
Rie
R
Amao
Teruhiko
T
Imamura
Yusuke
Y
Sawada
Sachiko
S
Endo
Shinichi
S
Ozaki
Kenichi
K
Okamura
Akihiro
A
Masuzawa
Tetsuhiro
T
Takaoka
Yasutaka
Y
Hirata
Takahiro
T
Shindo
Minoru
M
Ono
Nobuhiko
N
Haga
D000367:Age Factors; D000072038:Cardiac Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D015199:Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; D005260:Female; D006353:Heart-Assist Devices; D006801:Humans; D009205:Myocarditis / Q000628:therapy*