"Fast tracking" paediatric cardiac surgical patients.

T advances in diagnostic cardiology, anaesthetic/surgical/extracorporeal techniques, and improvements in the perioperative management strategies have all contributed to successful outcome of surgical procedures performed on neonates, infants and children with congenital heart disease (CHD). There has been a substantial decrease in the morbidity and mortality in these groups of patients despite the complexity of disease pattern. However, improvements in morbidity and mortality are associated with a significant increase in the cost of treatment. The focus in now directed towards provision/delivery of cost–effective patient care and issues in intensive care unit (ICU) settings like duration of mechanical ventilation and length of ICU stay are gaining attention of both the clinicians and the hospital managers.

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