Background Pediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) has a mortality rate of up to 75%, which can be up to 90% in high-risk patients. Even with the use of advanced ventilation strategies, mortality remains unacceptably high at 40%. Airway pressure release ventilation (APRV) mode is a new strategy in PARDS. Our aim was to evaluate whether use of APRV mode in severe PARDS was associated with reduced hospital mortality compared to other modes of ventilation.
Methods This was a retrospective comparative study using data from case files in a pediatric intensive care unit of a university-affiliated tertiary-care hospital. The study period (January 2014 to December 2019) covered three years before routine use of APRV mode to three years after its implementation. We compared severe PARDS patients in two groups: The APRV group (who received APRV as rescue therapy after failing protective ventilation); and The Non-APRV group, who received other modes of ventilation.
Results A total of 24 patients in each group were analyzed. Overall in-hospital mortality in the APRV group was 79% versus 91% in the Non-APRV group. In-hospital mortality was significantly lower in the APRV group (univariate analysis: hazard ratio [HR], 0.27; 95% CI, 0.14–0.52; P=0.001 and multivariate analysis: HR, 0.03; 95% CI, 0.005–0.17; P=0.001). Survival times were significantly longer in the APRV group (median time to death: 7.5 days in APRV vs. 4.3 days in non-APRV; P=0.001).
Conclusions Use of rescue APRV mode in severe PARDS may yield lower mortality rates and longer survival times.
Background Critically ill septic children are susceptible to electrolyte abnormalities, including magnesium disturbance, which can easily be neglected. This study examined the potential correlation between serum magnesium levels upon admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and the outcomes of critically ill septic patients.
Methods This prospective study, conducted from May 2023 to November 2023, included 76 children with sepsis who underwent clinical and lab assessments that included initial magnesium levels. The outcome of sepsis was documented. Predictors of mortality were identified through multivariate logistic regression models, with discrimination and calibration assessed using the area under the curve (AUC).
Results The median magnesium level upon PICU admission was 2.0 mg/dl (range 1.1–4.9), and it was slightly higher in non-survivors than survivors (2.1 mg/dl; interquartile range [IQR], 1.9–2.5 vs. 2.0; IQR, 1.8–2.6, respectively), Hypermagnesemia was observed to have a negative effect on critically ill septic patients. It was also found that hypermagnesemia was associated with low C-reactive protein levels (P=0.043). With a cutoff of 5.5, the pediatric Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score strongly predicted mortality (AUC=0.717, P<0.001), with a sensitivity of 64.3% and specificity of 68.8%.
Conclusions As an initial predictor of mortality, the serum magnesium level cannot be used alone; however, hypermagnesemia has a negative impact on critically ill septic patients. Thus, healthcare professionals should be cautious with magnesium administration.
Background Delays in diagnosing sepsis in children afflicted with thermal injuries can result in high morbidity and mortality. Our study evaluated the role of the biomarkers Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) as predictors of early sepsis and mortality, respectively, in this group of patients.
Methods This was a prospective evaluation of 90 pediatric burn cases treated at a tertiary care burn center in Northern India. Patients, aged 1–16 years, presenting within 24 hours of being burned, with >10% body surface area of burn injury were included in the study. Levels of PCT and CRP were measured on days 1, 3, 5, and 7. Patients were followed until discharge, 30th post-burn day, or death, whichever occurred first.
Results Sepsis was clinically present in 49 of 90 (54.4%) cases with a median 30% total body surface area (TBSA) of burns. Mortality was seen in 31 of 90 (34.4%) cases with a median of 35% TBSA burns. High PCT and CRP were seen in the sepsis group, particularly on days 3, 5, and 7. PCT was also significantly higher in the mortality group (days 1 and 3).
Conclusions While PCT was a good early predictor of sepsis and mortality in children with burns, CRP was reliable as a predictor of sepsis only. Both markers, however, can serve as adjuncts to culture sensitivity reports for diagnosing early onset sepsis and initiation of antibiotic therapy in appropriate patients.
Background Diagnosing pediatric septic shock is difficult due to the complex and often impractical traditional criteria, such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which result in delays and higher risks. This study aims to develop a deep learning-based model using SIRS data for early diagnosis in pediatric septic shock cases.
Methods The study analyzed data from pediatric patients (<18 years old) admitted to a tertiary hospital from January 2010 to July 2023. Vital signs, lab tests, and clinical information were collected. Septic shock cases were identified using SIRS criteria and inotrope use. A deep learning model was trained and evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC) and area under the precision-recall curve (AUPRC). Variable contributions were analyzed using the Shapley additive explanation value.
Results The analysis, involving 9,616,115 measurements, identified 34,696 septic shock cases (0.4%). Oxygen supply was crucial for 41.5% of the control group and 20.8% of the septic shock group. The final model showed strong performance, with an AUROC of 0.927 and AUPRC of 0.879. Key influencers were age, oxygen supply, sex, and partial pressure of carbon dioxide, while body temperature had minimal impact on estimation.
Conclusions The proposed deep learning model simplifies early septic shock diagnosis in pediatric patients, reducing the diagnostic workload. Its high accuracy allows timely treatment, but external validation through prospective studies is needed.
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Aligning prediction models with clinical information needs: infant sepsis case study Lusha Cao, Aaron J Masino, Mary Catherine Harris, Lyle H Ungar, Gerald Shaeffer, Alexander Fidel, Elease McLaurin, Lakshmi Srinivasan, Dean J Karavite, Robert W Grundmeier JAMIA Open.2025;[Epub] CrossRef
Background Identifying critically ill patients at risk of cardiac arrest is important because it offers the opportunity for early intervention and increased survival. The aim of this study was to develop a deep learning model to predict critical events, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation or mortality.
Methods This retrospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary university hospital. All patients younger than 18 years who were admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit from January 2010 to May 2023 were included. The main outcome was prediction performance of the deep learning model at forecasting critical events. Long short-term memory was used as a deep learning algorithm. The five-fold cross validation method was employed for model learning and testing.
Results Among the vital sign measurements collected during the study period, 11,660 measurements were used to develop the model after preprocessing; 1,060 of these data points were measurements that corresponded to critical events. The prediction performance of the model was the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (95% confidence interval) of 0.988 (0.9751.000), and the area under the precision-recall curve was 0.862 (0.700–1.000).
Conclusions The performance of the developed model at predicting critical events was excellent. However, follow-up research is needed for external validation.
Background In this study, we reviewed the outcomes of pediatric patients with malignancies who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
Methods We retrospectively analyzed the records of pediatric hemato-oncology patients treated with chemotherapy or HSCT and who received ECMO in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Seoul National University Children’s Hospital from January 2012 to December 2020.
Results Over a 9-year period, 21 patients (14 males and 7 females) received ECMO at a single pediatric institute; 10 patients (48%) received veno-arterial (VA) ECMO for septic shock (n=5), acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) (n=3), stress-induced myopathy (n=1), or hepatopulmonary syndrome (n=1); and 11 patients (52%) received veno-venous (VV) ECMO for ARDS due to pneumocystis pneumonia (n=1), air leak (n=3), influenza (n=1), pulmonary hemorrhage (n=1), or unknown etiology (n=5). All patients received chemotherapy; 9 received anthracycline drugs and 14 (67%) underwent HSCT. Thirteen patients (62%) were diagnosed with malignancies and 8 (38%) were diagnosed with non-malignant disease. Among the 21 patients, 6 (29%) survived ECMO in the PICU and 5 (24%) survived to hospital discharge. Among patients treated for septic shock, 3 of 5 patients (60%) who underwent ECMO and 5 of 10 patients (50%) who underwent VA ECMO survived. However, all the patients who underwent VA ECMO or VV ECMO for ARDS died.
Conclusions ECMO is a feasible treatment option for respiratory or heart failure in pediatric patients receiving chemotherapy or undergoing HSCT.
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Background Various rapid response systems have been developed to detect clinical deterioration in patients. Few studies have evaluated single-parameter systems in children compared to scoring systems. Therefore, in this study we evaluated a single-parameter system called the acute response system (ARS).
Methods This retrospective study was performed at a tertiary children’s hospital. Patients under 18 years old admitted from January 2012 to August 2023 were enrolled. ARS parameters such as systolic blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and whether the ARS was activated were collected. We divided patients into two groups according to activation status and then compared the occurrence of critical events (cardiopulmonary resuscitation or unexpected intensive care unit admission). We evaluated the ability of ARS to predict critical events and calculated compliance. We also analyzed the correlation between each parameter that activates ARS and critical events.
Results The critical events prediction performance of ARS has a specificity of 98.5%, a sensitivity of 24.0%, a negative predictive value of 99.6%, and a positive predictive value of 8.1%. The compliance rate was 15.6%. Statistically significant increases in the risk of critical events were observed for all abnormal criteria except low heart rate. There was no significant difference in the incidence of critical events.
Conclusions ARS, a single parameter system, had good specificity and negative predictive value for predicting critical events; however, sensitivity and positive predictive value were not good, and medical staff compliance was poor.
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Background Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a common endocrine emergency in pediatric patients. Early presentation to health facilities, diagnosis, and good management in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) are crucial for better outcomes in children with DKA.
Methods This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study conducted between February 2015 and January 2022. Patients with DKA were divided into two groups according to pandemic status and diabetes diagnosis.
Results The study enrolled 59 patients, and their mean age was 11±5 years. Forty (68%) had newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), and 61% received follow-up in the pre-pandemic period. Blood glucose, blood ketone, potassium, phosphorus, and creatinine levels were significantly higher in the new-onset T1DM group compared with the previously diagnosed group (P=0.01, P=0.02, P<0.001, P=0.01, and P=0.08, respectively). In patients with newly diagnosed T1DM, length of PICU stays were longer than in those with previously diagnosed T1DM (28.5±8.9 vs. 17.3±6.7 hours, P<0.001). The pandemic group was compared with pre-pandemic group, there was a statistically significant difference in laboratory parameters of pH, HCO3, and lactate and also Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) III score. All patients survived, and there were no neurologic sequelae.
Conclusions Patients admitted during the pandemic period were admitted with more severe DKA and had higher PRISM III scores. During the pandemic period, there was an increase in the incidence of DKA in the participating center compared to that before the pandemic.
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Background Pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), where children with critical illnesses are treated, require considerable manpower and technological infrastructure in order to keep children alive and free from sequelae.
Methods In this retrospective comparative cohort study, hospital records of patients aged 1 month to 18 years who died in the study PICU between January 2015 and December 2019 were reviewed.
Results A total of 2,781 critically ill children were admitted to the PICU. The mean±standard deviation age of 254 nonsurvivors was 64.34±69.48 months. The mean PICU length of stay was 17 days (range, 1–205 days), with 40 children dying early (<1 day of PICU admission). The majority of nonsurvivors (83.9%) had comorbid illnesses. Children with early mortality were more likely to have neurological findings (62.5%), hypotension (82.5%), oliguria (47.5%), acidosis (92.5%), coagulopathy (30.0%), and cardiac arrest (45.0%) and less likely to have terminal illnesses (52.5%) and chronic illnesses (75.6%). Children who died early had a higher mean age (81.8 months) and Pediatric Risk of Mortality (PRISM) III score (37). In children who died early, the first three signs during ICU admission were hypoglycemia in 68.5%, neurological symptoms in 43.5%, and acidosis in 78.3%. Sixty-seven patients needed continuous renal replacement therapy, 51 required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support, and 10 underwent extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Conclusions We found that rates of neurological findings, hypotension, oliguria, acidosis, coagulation disorder, and cardiac arrest and PRISM III scores were higher in children who died early compared to those who died later.
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Acute Crit Care. 2022;37(4):654-666. Published online October 26, 2022
Background Early recognition of deterioration events is crucial to improve clinical outcomes. For this purpose, we developed a deep-learning-based pediatric early-warning system (pDEWS) and aimed to validate its clinical performance.
Methods This is a retrospective multicenter cohort study including five tertiary-care academic children’s hospitals. All pediatric patients younger than 19 years admitted to the general ward from January 2019 to December 2019 were included. Using patient electronic medical records, we evaluated the clinical performance of the pDEWS for identifying deterioration events defined as in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) and unexpected general ward-to-pediatric intensive care unit transfer (UIT) within 24 hours before event occurrence. We also compared pDEWS performance to those of the modified pediatric early-warning score (PEWS) and prediction models using logistic regression (LR) and random forest (RF).
Results The study population consisted of 28,758 patients with 34 cases of IHCA and 291 cases of UIT. pDEWS showed better performance for predicting deterioration events with a larger area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, fewer false alarms, a lower mean alarm count per day, and a smaller number of cases needed to examine than the modified PEWS, LR, or RF models regardless of site, event occurrence time, age group, or sex.
Conclusions The pDEWS outperformed modified PEWS, LR, and RF models for early and accurate prediction of deterioration events regardless of clinical situation. This study demonstrated the potential of pDEWS as an efficient screening tool for efferent operation of rapid response teams.
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Background A subdural hematoma (SDH) following a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children can lead to unexpected death or disability. The nomogram is a clinical prediction tool used by physicians to provide prognosis advice to parents for making decisions regarding treatment. In the present study, a nomogram for predicting outcomes was developed and validated. In addition, the predictors associated with outcomes in children with traumatic SDH were determined.
Methods In this retrospective study, 103 children with SDH after TBI were evaluated. According to the King’s Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury classification, the functional outcomes were assessed at hospital discharge and categorized into favorable and unfavorable. The predictors associated with the unfavorable outcomes were analyzed using binary logistic regression. Subsequently, a two-dimensional nomogram was developed for presentation of the predictive model.
Results The predictive model with the lowest level of Akaike information criterion consisted of hypotension (odds ratio [OR], 9.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.0–42.9), Glasgow coma scale scores of 3–8 (OR, 8.2; 95% CI, 1.7–38.9), fixed pupil in one eye (OR, 4.8; 95% CI, 2.6–8.8), and fixed pupils in both eyes (OR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.6–7.1). A midline shift ≥5 mm (OR, 1.1; 95% CI, 0.62–10.73) and co-existing intraventricular hemorrhage (OR, 6.5; 95% CI, 0.003–26.1) were also included.
Conclusions SDH in pediatric TBI can lead to mortality and disability. The predictability level of the nomogram in the present study was excellent, and external validation should be conducted to confirm the performance of the clinical prediction tool.
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Background Hearing loss is a potentially serious complication that can occur after surviving a critical illness. Study on screening for hearing problems in pediatric critical care survivors beyond the neonatal period is lacking. This study aimed to identify the prevalence of abnormal hearing screening outcomes using transitory evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) screening in children who survived critical illness and to find possible associating factors for abnormal hearing screening results.
Methods This study was a single-center, prospective, observational study. All children underwent otoscopy to exclude external and middle ear abnormalities before undergoing TEOAE screening. The screening was conducted before hospital discharge. Descriptive statistics, chi-square, and logistic regression tests were used for data analysis.
Results A total of 92 children were enrolled. Abnormal TEOAE responses were identified in 26 participants (28.3%). Children with abnormal responses were significantly younger than those with normal responses with a median age of 10.0 months and 43.5 months, respectively (P<0.001). Positive association with abnormal responses was found in children younger than 12 months of age (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 3.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.06–8.90) and children with underlying genetic conditions (adjusted OR, 6.95; 95% CI, 1.49–32.54).
Conclusions Our study demonstrates a high prevalence of abnormal TEOAE screening responses in children surviving critical illness, especially in patients younger than 12 months of age. More extensive studies should be performed to identify the prevalence and associated risk factors of hearing problems in critically ill children.
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Background It is important to determine the proper location of tracheal tube for proper ventilation. In this study, we compared the diagnostic value of tracheal intubation with two methods of palpation and auscultation with chest X-ray (CXR) method in pediatric.
Methods In this interventional study, 80 patients under 6 years of age were included. After tracheal intubation appropriate depth of tracheal tube was determined by auscultation and recorded, then by palpation depth of tracheal tube determined and tube was fixed. The length of the tube was calculated with the standard formula based on age. After surgery, CXR was taken and, according to the landmark, the distance from the end of the tube to the anterior lower tooth was recorded.
Results Interclass correlation coefficient (ICC) between the palpation method and the standard method in the number of fixing tracheal intubation was 0.573, which shows the average and significant correlation between these two methods in determining the fixed number of tracheal intubation. ICC between the auscultation and the standard method in fixing tracheal intubation number was 0.430, which shows the average and significant agreement between these two methods in determining the fixed number of tracheal intubation. There is no significant relationship between sex and the average number of fixing tracheal intubation in all methods.
Conclusions This study has shown that both palpation and auscultation methods are appropriate, but with a slightly higher palpation ICC, the palpation can be considered relatively better.
Background Arrhythmias are known complication after surgery for congenital heart disease (CHD). This study aimed to identify and discuss their immediate prevalence, diagnosis and management at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan.
Methods A retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan between January 2014 and December 2018. All pediatric (<18 years old) patients admitted to the intensive care unit and undergoing continuous electrocardiographic monitoring after surgery for CHD were included in this study. Data pertaining to the incidence, diagnosis, and management of postoperative arrhythmias were collected.
Results Amongst 812 children who underwent surgery for CHD, 185 (22.8%) developed arrhythmias. Junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) was the most common arrhythmia, observed in 120 patients (64.9%), followed by complete heart block (CHB) in 33 patients (17.8%). The highest incidence of early postoperative arrhythmia was seen in patients with atrioventricular septal defects (64.3%) and transposition of the great arteries (36.4%). Patients were managed according to the Pediatric Advanced Life Support guidelines. JET resolved successfully within 24 hours in 92% of patients, while 16 (48%) patients with CHB required a permanent pacemaker.
Conclusions More than one in five pediatric patients suffered from early postoperative arrhythmias in our setting. Further research exploring predictive factors and the development of better management protocols of patients with CHB are essential for reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with postoperative arrhythmia.
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