Stroke Diagnosis Protocol for Children With Ventricular Assist Devices

Ventricular assist devices (VADs) are increasingly used for end-stage heart failure in children. VAD-associated neurologic dysfunction, including stroke and intracranial hemorrhage, occurs in more than 20% of patients. Starting in 2019, we implemented a protocol to diagnose stroke in relation to VAD to facilitate treatment. A multidisciplinary approach was implemented including targeted education for providers. VAD goals, structured neurologic exam, and frequency of neuromonitoring were incorporated into daily rounds, tailored to patient's phase of recovery. A protocolized neurocritical team assessment was implemented. A VAD-specific stroke algorithm and order set were implemented to facilitate rapid neuroimaging. We performed a pre- and postimplementation analysis from 2015 to 2020. Forty-six patients had VADs placed, 25 preintervention, and 21 postintervention. We compared the number of patients evaluated for stroke, time to imaging, and documentation of last known normal exam. Preintervention, time to imaging was 7 hours, and documentation was inconsistent. Postintervention, time to imaging decreased to 2.8 hours ( p = 0.038) with universal documentation of last known normal ( p = 0.009). The use of head computerized tomographies decreased from 11 preintervention to three postintervention. Development of a VAD protocol decreased time to imaging for suspected stroke and reduced unnecessary imaging. Further studies are required to validate these data.