Pediatric Critical Care Medicine最新文献

Objectives: In children with sepsis, thrombocytopenia is linked to poor outcomes, including longer hospital length of stay, increased bleeding risk, and higher mortality. However, the clinical significance of changes in platelet counts over time remain poorly characterized. We have examined dynamic platelet patterns and their association with mortality and patient-illness factors.

Design: Single-center retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Hospital pediatrics and PICU at Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, China.

Patients: Children with sepsis between January 2015 and December 2023.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: Group-based trajectory analysis was used to examine the trend in platelet count during the first 7 days of hospital admission. A regression model was developed to investigate possible associations between patient characteristics with platelet count trajectory. Additionally, a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for age, sex, comorbidities, and site/source of infection, was constructed to evaluate the association between platelet count trajectories and 28-day mortality. Among 1010 children with sepsis, we identified three platelet count trajectories with distinct characteristics. Age, fibrinogen level, activated partial thromboplastin time, and lactic acid were each associated with platelet count trajectories. The overall 28-day mortality for the cohort was 5.4%, varying across groups: 1.2% in group 3 with persistently high platelet count; 2.2% in group 2 with high-normal platelet count; and 12.6% in group 1 with low platelet count. In the multivariable Cox proportional hazards model, compared with group 1, both groups 2 and 3 were independently associated with reduced hazard of death at 28 days (hazard ratio, 0.26; p < 0.001 for group 2 and hazard ratio, 0.18; p = 0.021 for group 3).

Conclusions: We have identified three distinct and clinically relevant platelet count trajectories in children with sepsis, which serve as robust associations with survival in this patient population.

Objectives: Many PICU admissions start with presentation in the emergency department (ED). However, we do not know whether there are any ED-related factors associated with the subsequent development of pediatric delirium (PD) within 24 hours of PICU admission.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Single-center ED and PICU serving a quaternary referral center in the United States.

Patients: Children younger than 18 years old presenting to the ED between January 2022 and December 2023 who required direct admission to the PICU, and who had at least one positive delirium screening within 24 hours of the admission.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: The presence of delirium in the PICU was defined as a Cornell Assessment of Pediatric Delirium (CAPD) score of 9 and higher. We identified 138 patients for the final analysis. Overall, 51 of 138 patients (37%) developed PD within 24 hours of admission. The majority of delirium cases were classified as hypoactive (53%, 27/51) and mixed (31%, 16/51) subtypes, while only 16% (8/51) were identified as hyperactive delirium. Factors associated with greater odds (95% CI) of delirium in the PICU in multivariable analysis were use of mechanical ventilation (odds ratio [OR], 3.42 [95% CI, 1.09-10.78]; p = 0.04) and intermittent urinary catheterization (OR, 3.7 [95% CI, 1.21-11.30]; p = 0.02). Initial CAPD score positively correlated with PICU length of stay (LOS; r = 0.32; p < 0.01), Pediatric Index of Mortality 3 (PIM 3) score ( r = 0.26; p < 0.01), and negatively correlated with emergency severity index (ESI) in the ED ( r = -0.35; p < 0.01).

Conclusions: Mechanical ventilation and intermittent urinary catheterization in the ED are associated with greater odds of PD within 24 hours of PICU admission. CAPD at admission positively correlates with PICU LOS, PIM 3 scores, and negatively correlates with ESI in the ED.

Objective: To review the timing of death in children with sepsis referred for intensive care, 2018-2023, and compare with our previous 2005-2011 practice. We hypothesized that most deaths occur within 24 hours of referral to the PICU, with many before PICU admission.

Design, setting, and patients: We reviewed referrals to the Children's Acute Transport Service (CATS), North Thames regional pediatric intensive care transport service in the United Kingdom, between January 2018 and March 2023. We included referrals of children (younger than 16 yr) with a working diagnosis of "sepsis," "severe sepsis," "septicemia," or "septic shock." The primary outcome measure was time to death up to a year after referral.

Measurements and main results: Over the 62-month study period, 11,231 referrals were made to CATS, and 330 (3%) met the study inclusion criteria. Outcome data were available on 272, of whom 29 (11%) died in the first year after referral, which compares favorably with our 2005-2011 cohort from the same service in which the 1-year mortality was 21% (130/627): mean difference 10% (95% CI, 4.8-14.6%), p value equals 0.0003. Eighteen of the 29 deaths occurred in the first 24 hours after referral. Amongst children with comorbidities 12 of 139 (9%) died compared to 6 of 133 (5%) previously healthy children ( p = 0.22 Fisher exact test, odds ratio [OR] 2.0 with 95% CI, 0.73-5.5). By 1 year, mortality in children with comorbidities was 19 of 139 (13.9%) vs. mortality in previously healthy children of 10 of 133 (7.5%) ( p = 0.12; OR 1.8 [95% CI, 0.82-4.1]).

Conclusions: In 2018-2023, the proportion of referrals for PICU retrieval with a clinical diagnosis of "sepsis" was low at 3%. As with our 2005-2011 cohort, most deaths occurred within 24 hours of first referral. Therefore, early recognition and resuscitation still have the greatest potential for improving sepsis outcomes, which has implications for clinical trials.

Objectives: Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a complication of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) that carries a risk of secondary brain injury. This study investigated the association between ICP burden and brain injury patterns on MRI in children with severe TBI.

Design, setting, and patients: Secondary analysis of the Approaches and Decisions in Acute Pediatric TBI (ADAPT) study, which included children with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale score < 9) who received a clinical MRI within 30 days of injury. We excluded patients who had ICP monitoring less than 24 hours, were missing ICP data for greater than 40% of monitoring time, or who underwent craniectomy.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: ICP burden was defined as the trapezoidal area under the curve of hourly ICP greater than 20 mm Hg. ICP was standardized to total monitoring time, and patients were categorized to four levels of ICP burden. MRI was evaluated for number of diffuse axonal injury (DAI) microhemorrhages, intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) volume, contusion volume, and number of regions with ischemia. Fisher exact or chi-square tests were used to test the independence between ICP burden and MRI injury amount. Of the 220 patients, 156 (71%) had DAI, 31 (14%) had ICH, 161 (73%) had contusions, and 70 (32%) had ischemia on MRI. Most patients (180, 82%) experienced episodes of ICP greater than 20 mm Hg. Contusion volume ( p = 0.02) and number of regions with ischemia ( p = 0.007) were associated with ICP burden, but we failed to identify such an association for DAI or ICH. Severe (but not mild or moderate) ICP burden was associated with presence of ischemia (odds ratio, 4.64 [95% CI, 1.30-19.5]; p = 0.02).

Conclusions: Elevated ICP was prevalent in the ADAPT cohort. Ischemia and contusion were associated with the burden of ICP. Further research is needed to determine temporal relationships between elevated ICP and ischemia.

Objectives: To assess the prevalence and factors associated with duration of postoperative invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in children with medical complexity undergoing spinal fusion.

Design: Retrospective cohort study of the Pediatric Health Information System database.

Setting: Forty-seven tertiary referral U.S. children's hospitals.

Patients: Patients 5-18 years old with an underlying neuromuscular or genetic disorder admitted to the ICU following thoracic-lumbar spinal fusion for scoliosis, with hospital discharge between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021.

Interventions: None.

Measurements and main results: There were 6511 patients who met inclusion criteria, of which 438 (6.7%) had established preoperative tracheostomy and ventilator dependence. Three hundred seventy-two (5.7%) and 458 (7%) patients underwent postoperative IMV for 4-6 days and greater than or equal to 7 days, respectively. Chronic conditions associated with greater odds of greater than or equal to 4 days of postoperative IMV (as shown by adjusted odds ratio [aOR, 95% CI]), included diseases affecting the following systems: neurologic (aOR, 3.5; 95% CI, 2.5-5.0), respiratory (aOR, 2.8; 95% CI, 2.3-3.5), skin/subcutaneous tissue (aOR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.2-2.1), hematologic (aOR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7), endocrine/metabolic (aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), genitourinary (aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.7), and cardiac (aOR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.0-1.7). Established preoperative tracheostomy was associated with lower odds of greater than or equal to 4 days of postoperative IMV (aOR, 0.1; 95% CI, 0.02-0.3). New tracheostomy procedures were uncommon ( n = 43, 0.7%). Finally, there was substantial regional variation in postoperative IMV after spinal fusion, with patients in the Northeast vs. Midwest region having greater odds of greater than or equal to 4 days of postoperative IMV (aOR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.9-5.0).

Conclusions: One-in-eight children required greater than or equal to 4 days of IMV after spinal fusion. Chronic conditions affecting the neurologic, respiratory, skin/subcutaneous tissue, hematologic, endocrine/metabolic, genitourinary, and cardiac systems were associated with postoperative IMV. Further understanding of chronic conditions, clinical characteristics, and regional factors associated with duration of IMV may identify opportunities for improvements in care delivery.