Rady Children’s is the only place in the San Diego region where pediatric cardiologists work alongside neonatologists, airway specialists, otolaryngologists (ENT) and other specialists to seamlessly treat young cardiac patients with many co-existing conditions. The Hospital continues to demonstrate its commitment to caring for a multitude of complicated medical needs in its 30-bed CTICU. “Rady Children’s has been performing cardiac surgery on infants for more than 30 years,” explains Jose Honold, MD, a neonatologist at Rady Children’s and clinical professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine. “Until 2014, the neonatologists would serve as the intensivists, managing cardiac patients’ pre-operative and post-operative care. Then, in 2014, the new CTICU was created, and the Hospital brought on new critical care cardiologists to manage these complex patients in the new cardiac surgery unit,” he continues. “Now, 10 years later, the neonatologists continue to play a role in managing the care of these cardiac patients, mainly due to the multiple other problems they often experience.” The reasons for the CTICU’s creation a decade ago are many. First, Dr. Honold explains, is the growing prevalence of congenital heart disease, which is found in approximately 4 to 8 new cases per 1,000 deliveries. “In San Diego, we have approximately 50,000 to 60,000 deliveries per year, so we expect to see anywhere from 200 to 400 new cases of congenital heart disease every year,” he says. Harjot Bassi, MD, a board-certified pediatric intensivist, the respiratory director of the CTICU at Rady Children’s
and an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine, agrees that the incidence of congenital heart disease was a driving factor for establishing the unit. “There was enough
“
In San Diego, we have approximately 50,000 to 60,000 deliveries per year, so we expect to see anywhere from 200 to 400 new cases of congenital heart disease every year. JOSE HONOLD, MD,
growth in the number of cardiac patients to make it clear that they would benefit from their own specialized unit,” she says. “We saw that we had the patient volume and, thankfully, we had the resources to set it up to meet that demand.” However, the number of patients with congenital heart disease are just one part of the equation. The need for the CTICU also stems from patients whose cardiac issues arose after birth, as well as the additional levels of care all these young cardiac patients require. “At its core, the CTICU
is an isolated unit for patients who require intensive
care for heart disease. Generally speaking, they are neonates and infants; however, we still see children and adolescents,” Dr.
NEONATOLOGIST AT RADY CHILDREN’S AND CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AT UC SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Bassi explains. “The majority of our patients had a prenatal diagnosis, but there is still a small percentage of infants and children who were diagnosed postnatally or
SPRING 2024 HEALTHY KIDS MAGAZINE 21
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