Early Impressions and Adoption of the AtriAmp for Managing Arrhythmias Following Congenital Heart Surgery

AtriAmp is a new medical device that displays a continuous real-time atrial electrogram on telemetry using temporary atrial pacing leads. Our objective was to evaluate early adoption of this device into patient care within our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). This is a qualitative study using inductive analysis of semi-structured interviews to identify dominant themes. The study was conducted in a single-center, tertiary, academic 21-bed mixed PICU. The subjects were PICU multidisciplinary team members (Pediatric Cardiac Intensivists, PICU Nurse Practitioners, PICU nurses and Pediatric Cardiologists) who were early adopters of the AtriAmp (n = 14). Three prominent themes emerged: (1) Accelerated time from arrhythmia event to diagnosis and treatment; (2) Increased confidence in the accuracy of providers’ arrhythmia diagnosis; and (3) Improvement in the ability to educate providers about post-operative arrhythmias. Providers also noted some learning curves, but none compromised medical care or clinical workflow. Insights from early adopters of AtriAmp signal the need for simplicity and fidelity in new PICU technologies. Our research suggests that such technologies can be pivotal to the support and growth of multi-disciplinary teams, even among those who do not participate in early implementation. Further research is needed to understand when and why novel technology adoption becomes widespread in high-stakes settings.