Fast tracking after repair of congenital heart defects

Garg, Rajnish Kumar; Thareen, Jameel Khan; Mehmood, Akhter; Fink, Christoph Johannes; Nakao, Masakazu; Jain, Richie; Sam, Monsy; Di Donato, Roberto Michele

Fast tracking after repair of congenital heart defects (CHD) is a process involving the reduction of perioperative period by timely admission, early extubation after surgery, short intensive care unit (ICU) stay, early mobilisation, and faster hospital discharge. It requires a coordinated multidisciplinary team involvement. In the last 2 decades, many centres have adopted the fast tracking strategy in paediatric cardiac population, safely and successfully extubating patients in the OR with reported benefits in terms of reduced morbidity and ICU/hospital stay. In this manuscript, we will review the literature available on early extubation after repair of CHD and share our experience with this approach.