Method
Participants and setting
This study was conducted in a 47-bed cardiac intensive care
unit (CICU) in a tertiary children’s hospital that conducts
more than 3000 cardiac surgery cases annually in Shanghai,
China. To be eligible for the study, children had to meet the
following criteria: (1) aged 0–7 years after cardiac surgery,
(2) required a minimum two days stay in CICU, and (3)
without any developmental disabilities, such as Down’s
syndrome. Children were excluded if they had neurological
deficits, or if they needed to return to the operating room or if
they received extracorporeal membrane oxygenation
(ECMO) therapy.