Psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on paediatric healthcare workers

INTRODUCTION@#Frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are at risk of psychological distress. This study evaluates the psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on HCWs in a national paediatric referral centre.@*METHODS@#This was a survey-based study that collected demographic, work environment and mental health data from paediatric HCWs in the emergency, intensive care and infectious disease units. Psychological impact was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale-21. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with psychological distress.@*RESULTS@#The survey achieved a response rate of 93.9% (430 of 458). Of the 430 respondents, symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress were reported in 168 (39.1%), 205 (47.7%) and 106 (24.7%), respectively. Depression was reported in the mild (47, 10.9%), moderate (76, 17.7%), severe (23, 5.3%) and extremely severe (22, 5.1%) categories. Anxiety (205, 47.7%) and stress (106, 24.7%) were reported in the mild category only. Collectively, regression analysis identified female sex, a perceived lack of choice in work scope/environment, lack of protection from COVID-19, lack of access to physical activities and rest, the need to perform additional tasks, and the experience of stigma from the community as risk factors for poor psychological outcome.@*CONCLUSION@#A high prevalence of depression, anxiety and stress was reported among frontline paediatric HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal psychoneuroimmunity and organisational prevention measures can be implemented to lessen psychiatric symptoms. At the national level, involving mental health professionals to plan and coordinate psychological intervention for the country should be considered.

Immunomodulator use in paediatric severe sepsis and septic shock

INTRODUCTION@#The use of drugs that modulate the immune system during paediatric severe sepsis and septic shock may alter the course of disease and is poorly studied. This study aims to characterise these children who received immunomodulators and describe their clinical outcomes.@*METHODS@#This is a retrospective chart review of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted into the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Clinical, haematological and outcome characteristics of patients with or without exposure to immune-modulating drugs were compared. Primary outcome was PICU mortality; secondary outcomes were 28-day ventilator-free days (VFD) and intensive care unit-free days (IFD). Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed for these outcomes.@*RESULTS@#A total of 109 patients with paediatric severe sepsis or septic shock were identified. Of this number, 47 (43.1%), 16 (14.7%) and 3 (2.8%) patients received systemic corticosteroids, intravenous immunoglobulins and granulocyte colony stimulating factor, respectively. Patients who received immune-modulating drugs were more likely to require invasive ventilation (38/54 [70.4%] versus 26/55 [47.3%], @*CONCLUSION@#Immune-modulating drugs were frequently used in paediatric severe sepsis and septic shock. Patients who received these drugs seemed to require more PICU support. Further studies are required to examine this association thoroughly.

Non-Invasive Ventilation in Children with Paediatric Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome

INTRODUCTION@#Evidence supporting non-invasive ventilation (NIV) in paediatric acute respiratory distress syndrome (PARDS) remains sparse. We aimed to describe characteristics of patients with PARDS supported with NIV and risk factors for NIV failure.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#This is a multicentre retrospective study. Only patients supported on NIV with PARDS were included. Data on epidemiology and clinical outcomes were collected. Primary outcome was NIV failure which was defined as escalation to invasive mechanical ventilation within the first 7 days of PARDS. Patients in the NIV success and failure groups were compared.@*RESULTS@#There were 303 patients with PARDS; 53/303 (17.5%) patients were supported with NIV. The median age was 50.7 (interquartile range: 15.7-111.9) months. The Paediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction score and oxygen saturation/fraction of inspired oxygen (SF) ratio were 2.0 (1.0-10.0) and 155.0 (119.4- 187.3), respectively. Indications for NIV use were increased work of breathing (26/53 [49.1%]) and hypoxia (22/53 [41.5%]). Overall NIV failure rate was 77.4% (41/53). All patients with sepsis who developed PARDS experienced NIV failure. NIV failure was associated with an increased median paediatric intensive care unit stay (15.0 [9.5-26.5] vs 4.5 [3.0-6.8] days; <0.001) and hospital length of stay (26.0 [17.0-39.0] days vs 10.5 [5.5-22.3] days; = 0.004). Overall mortality rate was 32.1% (17/53).@*CONCLUSION@#The use of NIV in children with PARDS was associated with high failure rate. As such, future studies should examine the optimal selection criteria for NIV use in these children.

Positive Fluid Balance is Associated with Poor Clinical Outcomes in Paediatric Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock

INTRODUCTION@#Growing evidence suggests there is potential harm associated with excess fluid in critically ill children. This study aimed to evaluate the association between percentage fluid overload (%FO) and paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) mortality in children with severe sepsis and septic shock.@*MATERIALS AND METHODS@#Patients with severe sepsis and septic shock admitted to the PICU were identified through discharge codes. Data on clinical characteristics, fluid input and output were collected. %FO was calculated as: (total daily input - total daily output [L]/admission body weight [kg]) × 100. The primary outcome was PICU mortality. Secondary outcomes were 28-day ventilator-free days (VFD), intensive care unit-free days (IFD) and inotrope-free days (InoFD). Multivariate analysis adjusting for presence of comorbidities, Pediatric Index of Mortality (PIM) 2 score and multiorgan dysfunction were used to determine the association between cumulative %FO over 5 days and outcomes.@*RESULTS@#A total of 116 patients were identified, with a mortality rate of 28.4% (33/116). Overall median age was 105.9 (23.1-157.2) months. Cumulative %FO over 5 days was higher in non-survivors compared to survivors (median [interquartile range], 15.1 [6.3-27.1] vs 3.6 [0.7-11.1]%; <0.001). Cumulative %FO was associated with increased mortality (adjusted odds ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.13; = 0.001) and decreased VFD, IFD and InoFD (adjusted mean difference -0.37 [-0.53 - -0.21] days, -0.34 [-0.49 - -0.20] days, and -0.31 [-0.48 - -0.14] days, respectively).@*CONCLUSION@#Cumulative %FO within the first 5 days of PICU stay was consistently and independently associated with poor clinical outcomes in children with severe sepsis and septic shock. Future studies are needed to test the impact of restrictive fluid strategies in these children.

Performance of the Paediatric Index of Mortality 3 and Paediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction 2 Scores in Critically Ill Children

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>The Paediatric Index of  Mortality 3 (PIM 3) and Paediatric Logistic Organ Dysfunction 2 (PELOD 2) scores were recently revised. We aimed to assess the performance of these scores in a contemporary cohort of critically ill children.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>This is a single-centre prospective study conducted in a multidisciplinary paediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Consecutive PICU admissions over 1 year were included and admission PIM 3 and PELOD 2 scores were calculated. The performance of each of the scores was evaluated by calculating the area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test for the outcome of PICU mortality.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of  570 patient admissions were eligible for this study. The median age of patients was 3.1 (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.4, 8.9 years). Overall median PIM 3 and PELOD 2 scores were 1.2 (IQR: 0.4, 3.2) % and 4 (IQR: 2, 7), respectively. The overall mortality rate was 35/570 (6.1%). The PIM 3 and PELOD 2 scores had good discrimination for mortality (AUCs 0.88 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85, 0.91] and 0.86 [95% CI 0.83, 0.89], respectively). Goodness-of-fit was satisfactory for both scores. Higher PIM 3 and PELOD 2 scores were also associated with decreasing ventilator and PICU-free days.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>PIM 3 and PELOD 2 scores are robust severity of illness scores that are generalisable to a contemporary cohort of critically ill children in Singapore.</p>

Long-Term Morbidities in Children with Critical Illness: Gaps and Opportunities

<p><b>INTRODUCTION</b>Improved mortality rates in paediatric critical care may come with the cost of increased morbidity. Goals of modern paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) management should focus on restoring long-term function of paediatric critical illness survivors. This review outlines our current knowledge on trajectories and risk factors of long-term morbidities in PICU survivors. Specifically, we aimed to identify current limitations and gaps in this area so as to identify opportunities for future investigations to reduce the burden of morbidities in these children.</p><p><b>MATERIALS AND METHODS</b>A review of primary studies published in PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases in the last decade (2008-2017) describing long-term morbidities in PICU survivors was conducted.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Children surviving critical illness continue to experience morbidities after discharge. A set of risk factors modify their long-term trajectories of recovery, with some children achieving their premorbid level of function, while some others deteriorate or die. Limitations in current methodologies of morbidity research impair our understanding on the causes of these morbidities. Opportunities for future endeavours to reduce the burden of these morbidities include identifying patients who are more likely to develop morbidities, evaluating the efficacy of early rehabilitation, identifying patients who might benefit from tight glycaemic control, characterising the optimal nutritional intervention, and improving management of increased intracranial pressure.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Survivors of paediatric critical illness experience differing trajectories of recovery from morbidities. Future research is needed to expand our repertoire on management strategies to improve long-term function in these children.</p>

Characteristics and Risk Factors for Mortality in Paediatric In-Hospital Cardiac Events in Singapore: Retrospective Single Centre Experience

: There is limited data on paediatric resuscitation outcomes in Asia. We aimed to describe outcomes of paediatric in-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCA) and peri-resuscitation factors associated with mortality in our institution.: Using data from our hospital's code registry from 2009 to 2014, we analysed all patients younger than 18 years of age with IHCA who required cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Exposure variables were obtained from clinical demographics, CPR and post-resuscitation data. Outcomes measured were: survival after initial CPR event and survival to hospital discharge. We analysed categorical and continuous variables with Fisher's exact and Wilcoxon rank- sum tests respectively. Statistical significance was taken as<0.05.: We identified 51 patients in the study period. Median age of patients was 1.9 (interquartile range [IQR]: 0.3, 5.5) years. Twenty-six (51%) patients had bradycardia as the first-recorded rhythm. The most common pre-existing medical condition was respiratory-related (n = 25, 48%). Thirty-eight (75%) achieved sustained return of spontaneous circulation, 24 (47%) survived to paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) discharge and 23 (45%) survived to hospital discharge. Risk factors for hospital mortality included: age, duration of CPR, adrenaline, calcium or bicarbonate administration during CPR, Paediatric Index of Mortality (PIM)- II scores, first recorded post-resuscitation pH and hyperglycaemia within 24 hours of resuscitation.: We demonstrated an association between clinical demographics (age, PIM-II scores), CPR variables (duration of CPR and administration of adrenaline, calcium or bicarbonate) and post-resuscitation laboratory results (first recorded pH and hyperglycaemia within 24 hours) with PICU survival. The availability and quality of post- resuscitation care may have implications on survival after paediatric IHCA.