Chest: Bringing PERT to Pediatrics: Initial Experience and Outcomes of a Pediatric Multidisciplinary Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT)

Background: Multidisciplinary pulmonary embolism response teams (PERTs) streamline care of adults with life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE). Given rarity of pediatric PE, developing a clinical, educational, and research PERT paradigm is a novel and underused concept in pediatrics.

Research question: Is a PERT feasible in pediatrics, and does it improve PE care?

Study design and methods: A strategy-to-execution proposal to launch a pediatric PERT was developed for institutional buy-in. Key stakeholders collectively implemented the PERT. Data were collected for the 2-year pre-PERT and post-PERT eras, and outcomes were compared.

Results: PERT implementation took 12 months. Our PERT, led by hematology, is composed of pediatric experts in emergency medicine, critical care, interventional cardiology, anesthesiology, and interventional radiology. Data on 30 patients pre-PERT and 31 patients post-PERT were analyzed. Pre-PERT, 10% (3 of 30), 13% (4 of 30), 20% (6 of 30), and 57% (17 of 30), and post-PERT, 3% (1 of 31), 10% (3 of 31), 16% (5 of 31), and 71% (22 of 31) were categorized as high-risk, intermediate-low-risk, intermediate-high-risk, and low-risk PE, respectively. Post-PERT, there were 13 unique PERT activations. PERT was activated on all eligible patients with PE and, additionally, on four low-risk PEs. Time to echocardiogram was shorter post-PERT (4.7 vs 2 hours; P = .0147). Anticoagulation was ordered (90 vs 54 min; P = .003) and given sooner (154 vs 113 min; P = .049) post-PERT. There were no differences in time to reperfusion therapies (12 hours pre-PERT vs 8.7 hours post-PERT, P = .10). Five of six (83.3%) eligible (intermediate-high and high-risk) patients received reperfusion therapies in the post-PERT era compared to three of eight (37.5%) eligible patients in the pre-PERT era (P = .0001). There were no differences in major bleeding, mortality, or length of stay in either era.

Interpretation: The pediatric PERT paradigm was successfully created and adopted locally. Our PERT enhanced access to experts, facilitated timely advanced therapies, and held value for low-risk PE. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center pediatric PERT may serve as a best practice model for streamlining care for pediatric PE.