Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is a collaborator with the Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Consortium (PC4), a North American registry of clinical data from pediatric cardiac intensive care units (CICUs) for the purposes of research and quality improvement initiatives. Research efforts led by CHOP have focused on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) use in the pediatric CICU, with a specific focus on characterizing ECMO use and outcomes in this population.

More than 35 centers across North America report data to PC4. The collaborative, which is coordinated at the University of Michigan, aims to improve the care to patients with critical pediatric and congenital cardiovascular disease in North America and abroad. Formed in 2009 with National Institutes of Health funding, PC4 consists of leaders in pediatric critical care, cardiac surgery, and cardiology representing a diverse group of centers caring for these vulnerable patients.

The core pillars of collaborative quality improvement serve as the foundation for PC4: purposeful collection of specific clinical data on outcomes and practice; timely performance feedback to clinicians; and continuous improvement based on analysis and collaborative learning.