High-flow nasal cannula and non-invasive mechanical ventilation in pediatric asthma exacerbation: two-year prospective observational study in intensive care / Cánula nasal de alto flujo y ventilación no invasiva en asma pediátrico grave: estudio observacional prospectivo de dos años de duración en cuidados intensivos

Abstract Background: Asthma is a common cause of admission to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). We described and analyzed the therapies applied to children admitted to a tertiary PICU because of asthma. Later, we evaluated high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) use in these patients and compared their evolution and complications with those who received non-invasive ventilation. Methods: We conducted a prospective observational study (October 2017-October 2019). Collected data: epidemiological, clinical, respiratory support therapy needed, complementary tests, and PICU and hospital stay. Patients were divided into three groups: (1) only HFNC; (2) HFNC and non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV); and (3) only NIMV. Results: Seventy-six patients were included (39 female). The median age was 2 years and 1 month. The median pulmonary score was 5. The median PICU stay was 3 days, and the hospital stay was 6 days. Children with HNFC only (56/76) had fewer PICU days (p = 0.025) and did not require NIMV (6/76). Children with HFNC had a higher oxygen saturation/fraction of inspired oxygen ratio ratio (p = 0.025) and lower PCO2 (p = 0.032). In the group receiving both therapies (14/76), NIMV was used first in all cases. No epidemiologic or clinical differences were found among groups. Conclusion: HFNC was a safe approach that did not increase the number of PICU or hospital days. On admission, normal initial blood gases and the absence of high oxygen requirements were useful in selecting responders to HFNC. Further randomized and multicenter clinical trials are needed to verify these data.

Resumen Introducción: El asma es una causa frecuente de ingreso en la unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátricos (UCIP). En este, cuadro el uso de cánula nasal de alto flujo (CNAF) se ha visto extendido. En este trabajo se describe el tratamiento global en la UCIP ante el ingreso por asma en un hospital monográfico pediátrico y se evalúa la respuesta al uso de la CNAF, comparando la evolución de los pacientes con aquellos que recibieron ventilación no invasiva (VNI). Métodos: Se llevó a cabo un estudio observacional prospectivo (de octubre del 2017 a octubre del 2019). Se describieron epidemiología, clínica, tratamiento y soporte respiratorio. Para la comparación se crearon tres grupos de pacientes: 1) solo CNAF; 2) CNAF y VNI; y 3) solo VNI. Resultados: Se incluyeron 76 pacientes. La mediana de edad fue de dos años y un mes; la mediana de índice pulmonar fue 5. La mediana de ingreso en UCIP fue de tres días y de ingreso hospitalario, seis días. Los niños con solo CNAF (56/76) mostraron menos días de UCIP (p = 0.025) y no requirieron VNI (6/76). También mostraron mayor SatO2/FiO2 (saturación de oxígeno/fracción de oxígeno inspirado) (p = 0.025) y menor nivel de PCO2 (presión parcial de CO2) (p = 0.032). La VNI se utilizó primero siempre en el grupo que recibió ambas modalidades (14/76). No se encontraron diferencias epidemiológicas o clínicas entre grupos. Conclusiones: En nuestra serie, el uso de CNAF no aumentó los días de ingreso en la UCIP ni de hospital. Tampoco requirió cambio a VNI. Al ingreso, una gasometría normal y bajo requerimiento de oxígeno permitieron seleccionar a los pacientes respondedores. Se necesitan más ensayos multicéntricos clínicos aleatorizados para verificar estos datos.

Epidemiology and outcomes of septic shock in children with complex chronic conditions in a developing country PICU

Abstract Objective: To investigate the role of Complex Chronic Conditions (CCCs) on the outcomes of pediatric patients with refractory septic shock, as well as the accuracy of PELOD-2 and Vasoactive Inotropic Score (VIS) to predict mortality in this specific population. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective cohort study. All patients diagnosed with septic shock requiring vasoactive drugs admitted to a 13-bed PICU in southern Brazil, between January 2016 and July 2018, were included. Clinical and demographic characteristics, presence of CCCs and VIS, and PELOD-2 scores were accessed by reviewing electronic medical records. The main outcome was considered PICU mortality. Results: 218 patients with septic shock requiring vasoactive drugs were identified in the 30-month period and 72% of them had at least one CCC. Overall mortality was 22%. Comparing to patients without previous comorbidities, those with CCCs had a higher mortality (26.7% vs 9.8%; OR = 3.4 [1.3-8.4]) and longer hospital length of stay (29.3 vs 14.8; OR 2.39 [1.1-5.3]). Among the subgroups of CCCs, "Malignancy" was particularly associated with mortality (OR = 2.3 [1.0-5.1]). VIS and PELOD-2 scores in 24 and 48 hours were associated with mortality and a PELOD-2 in 48 hours > 8 had the best performance in predicting mortality in patients with CCC (AUROC = 0.89). Conclusion: Patients with CCCs accounted for the majority of those admitted to the PICU with septic shock and related to poor outcomes. The high prevalence of hospitalizations, use of resources, and significant mortality determine that patients with CCCs should be considered a priority in the healthcare system.

Funcionalidade após internação em unidade de terapia intensiva pediátrica ­ seguimento de seis meses: um estudo multicêntrico / Functional status after PICU hospitalization ­ a six-month follow-up: a multicenter study

INTRODUÇÃO: Após doença crítica, diversas complicações podem surgir, incluindo prejuízo da funcionalidade. OBJETIVOS: Avaliar a funcionalidade de pacientes críticos pediátricos após a alta hospitalar. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Estudo observacional longitudinal prospectivo, com 214 pacientes com idade entre um mês e <18 anos, que necessitaram de internação em UTIP. A funcionalidade foi avaliada com a Escala de Estado Funcional (FSS-Brasil) na linha de base, alta da UTIP, alta hospitalar, três e seis meses após alta. Nova morbidade foi definida como piora do estado funcional de dois ou mais pontos no mesmo domínio da FSS-Brasil quando comparado com a pontuação inicial. O modelo Generalized Estimating Equation foi utilizado para comparar os escores da FSS-Brasil. Teste Qui-quadrado de McNemar foi utilizado para avaliar a diferença entre as categorias de estado funcional em cada domínio. Regressão de Poisson foi realizada para determinar associações entre variáveis clínicas e estado funcional. RESULTADOS: Dos 214 pacientes,135 terminaram o seguimento. A maioria da amostra era do sexo masculino (57,5%), com alguma condição crônica (76,2%) e 45,8% reinternaram no hospital. Observamos disfunção moderada na FSS-Brazil (10-15) na alta da UTIP (42,1%) e nova morbidade foi observada em 11,5% da amostra após alta hospitalar. Mais dias em ventilação mecânica invasiva aumentaram em 1,02 o risco de nova morbidade. CONCLUSÕES: Pacientes que necessitaram de UTIP recuperaram a funcionalidade após a alta hospitalar e permaneceram estáveis em três e seis meses. A incidência de nova morbidade foi baixa e a ventilação mecânica invasiva foi fator de risco.

BACKGROUND: After a critical disease many complications could appear, one of them is functional impairment. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the functional status of critical pediatric patients after hospital discharge. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective longitudinal observational study, included 214 patients with age between one month and <18 years old, who needed PICU admission. The functional status was evaluated with Functional Status Scale (FSS-Brazil) at baseline, PICU discharge, hospital discharge, three and six months after this and new morbidity was defined as a worsening in functional status in the FSS-Brazil of two or more points in the same domain compared with the baseline score. The Generalized Estimating Equation model was used to compare the FSS-Brazil scores. McNemar Chi-square test was used to evaluate the difference between the categories of functional status in each domain. Poisson regression was performed to determine associations between clinical variables and functional status. RESULTS: Of the 214 patients, 135 finished the follow-up. The majority of the sample was males (57.5%), with some chronic condition (76.2%) and 45.8% were readmitted to the hospital. It was observed moderate dysfunction in FSS-Brazil score (10-15) at PICU discharge (42.1%) and the new morbidity was observed in 11.5% of the sample after hospital discharge. More days in invasive mechanical ventilation increases 1.02 the risk of new morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: Patients who needed PICU recovered functional status after hospital discharge and remained stable in three and six months. The incidence of new morbidity was low and invasive mechanical ventilation was a risk factor for new morbidity.

Improvement of 1st-hour bundle compliance and sepsis mortality in pediatrics after the implementation of the surviving sepsis campaign guidelines

Abstract Objectives To study the impact of the implementation of the Pediatric Surviving Sepsis Campaign protocol on early recognition of sepsis, 1 -h treatment bundle and mortality. Methods Retrospective, single-center study, before and after the implementation of the sepsis protocol. Outcomes: sepsis recognition, compliance with the 1 -h bundle (fluid resuscitation, blood culture, antibiotics), time interval to fluid resuscitation and antibiotics administration, and mortality. Patients with febrile neutropenia were excluded. The comparisons between the periods were performed using non-parametric tests and odds ratios or relative risk were calculated. Results We studied 84 patients before and 103 after the protocol implementation. There was an increase in sepsis recognition (OR 21.5 [95% CI: 10.1-45.7]), in the compliance with the 1 -h bundle as a whole (62% x 0%), and with its three components: fluid resuscitation (OR 31.1 [95% CI: 3.9−247.2]), blood culture (OR 15.9 [95% CI: 3.9−65.2]), and antibiotics (OR 35.6 [95% CI: 8.9−143.2]). Significant reduction between sepsis recognition to fluid resuscitation (152min × 12min, p < 0.001) and to antibiotics administration (137min × 30min) also occurred. The risk of death before protocol implementation was four times greater (RR 4.1 [95% CI: 1.2-14.4]), and the absolute death risk reduction was 9%. Conclusion Even if we considered the low precision of some estimates, the lower limits of the Confidence Intervals show that the implementation of the Pediatric Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines alongside a qualitive assurance initiative has led to improvements in sepsis recognition, compliance with the 1 -h treatment bundle, reduction in the time interval to fluid resuscitation and antibiotics, and reduction in sepsis mortality.

Sepsis-related mortality and family socioeconomic features of septic patients in pediatric intensive care unit in the Yangtze River Delta / 中国小儿急救医学

Objective:To investigate pediatric sepsis-related mortality of pediatric intensive care unit(PICU) and family socioeconomic status in Yangtze River Delta.Methods:A prospective, multicenter observational study was conducted to collect sepsis cases from eight PICUs in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai from August 2016 to July 2017.Sepsis cases were divided into normal sepsis group and severe sepsis group.The primary outcome was in-hospital death.Patient data were prospectively collected including age, gender, medical insurance status, long-term residence, source of admission, first-day pediatric sequential organ failure score(pSOFA) score, underlying diseases and socioeconomic characteristics including family education level, family annual economic income.Results:A total of 4, 983 patients admitted in PICUs, of which 651 patients were diagnosed sepsis on admission.The prevalence of sepsis was 13.1% (651/4 983), and overall mortality was 11.7% (76/651). The prevalence of severe sepsis was 28.3% (184/651), and the mortality was 20.1% (37/184). The overall median age was 0.9 years old.The infant group accounted for 50.8%, including 331 cases, followed by toddler group 19.8% (129 cases), preschool group 13.0% (86 cases), school group 11.8% (77 cases), and adolescent group 4.3% (28 cases). The median pSOFA score was 4.Logistic regression analysis showed that the OR value was 1.4(95% CI 1.3-1.5) of pSOFA score corresponding to the death of sepsis in hospital.There were 14.6% patients left hospital in medical insurance group, while 27.4% in non-medical insurance group, and there was significant difference between these two groups.The median of daily cost was 5, 446 RMB, among which the median of daily cost of sever sepsis was 6, 678 RMB.The median of total cost for sepsis was 36, 109 RMB, and that for severe sepsis was 41, 433 RMB. Conclusion:The sepsis-related mortality was high in PICU.The pSOFA score has a certain predictive value for the prognosis of sepsis.The burden of sepsis is still heavy.Compared with medical insurance families, non-medical insurance families have a higher proportion of choosing left hospital.

Uso racional de antibióticos y tecnología FilmArray para identificación rápida de bacteriemias en unidad de cuidados intensivos pediátrica / Rational use of antibiotics and FilmArray technology for rapid identification of bacteremias in a pediatric intensive care unit

INTRODUCCIÓN: Las infecciones graves son la principal causa de ingreso a cuidados intensivos pediátricos. El panel FilmArray BCID permite identificar rápidamente a microorganismos causantes de bacteriemias. OBJETIVO: evaluar la eficacia de la identificación rápida de microorganismos asociado a un Programa de Uso Racional de Antibióticos (URA) en reducir los tiempos de terapias antibióticas, en un hospital pediátrico. PACIENTES Y MÉTODO: Estudio retrospectivo, que incluyó 100 pacientes, en su primer episo dio de bacteriemia, divididos en 2 grupos de 50 cada uno: Intervención (FilmArray BCID y programa URA) y Controles históricos pareados para la misma especie del microrganismo identificado (microbiología convencional). Las variables evaluadas fueron los tiempos de identificación microbiana, latencia de la terapia dirigida y de desescalar antibióticos. RESULTADOS: Los grupos fueron comparables en características demográficas, foco de infección y etiología de bacteriemia. El tiempo promedio de identificación de microorganismos fue de 23 h (IC 95% 12,4-26,7) en el grupo intervención, y 70,5 h (IC 95% 65,2-78,6) en el control (p < 0,05), mientras que la latencia de inicio de terapia dirigida fue de 27,9 h (IC 95% 22,3-32,8) y 71,9 h (IC 95% 63,2-77,8) respectivamente (p < 0,05). El tiempo de desescalar o suspender antibióticos fue de 6,4 h (IC 95% 2,76-9,49) y 22 h (IC 95% 6,74-35,6) en los grupos mencionados (p > 0,05). CONCLUSIÓN: El panel FilmArray BCID articulado a un programa URA, contribuye a la identificación de los microorganismos causantes de bacteriemias en menor tiempo que los métodos convencionales, siendo una herramienta que optimiza las terapias antibióti cas en niños críticamente enfermos.

INTRODUCTION: Severe infections are the leading cause of admission to pediatric intensive care. The FilmArray BCID panel quickly identifies microorganisms that cause bacteremia. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate if the rapid identification of the microorganisms that cause bacteremia, along with a Rational Use of Antibio tics (RUA) Program, allows optimizing the time of antibiotic therapy in a pediatric hospital. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Retrospective study which included 100 patients presenting their first episode of bacteremia, divided into 2 groups of 50 each. The first one was Intervention (FilmArray BCID and RUA program) and the second one was Historical Controls (conventional automated ID/AST). The variables evaluated were the time required for microbial identification, duration of appropriate therapy, and antibiotic de-escalation. RESULTS: The groups were comparable in terms of demographic characteristics, focus of infection, and etiology of bacteremia. The average time of microorganisms' identification of the control group was 70.5 hours (IC 95% 65.2-78.6) and 23.0 hours (IC 95% 12.4 -26.7) in the intervention one (p < 0.05). The average time of targeted therapy onset was shorter in the intervention group (27.9 h [IC 95% 22.3-32.8]) than that of the control one (71.9 h [IC 95% 63.2-77.8]) (p < 0.05). Finally, the time to de-escalate or discontinue antibiotics in the intervention group and the control one was 6.4 hours (IC 95% 2.76-9.49) hours and 22.0 hours (IC 95% 6.74-35.6 h) respectively (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The FilmArray panel along with the RUA Program allows the identification of the microorganisms causing bacteremia faster than conventional methods, which positions it as a tool that optimizes antibiotic therapy of critical patients.

COVID-19 diagnostic and management protocol for pediatric patients

This review aims to verify the main epidemiologic, clinical, laboratory-related, and therapeutic aspects of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in critically ill pediatric patients. An extensive review of the medical literature on COVID-19 was performed, mainly focusing on the critical care of pediatric patients, considering expert opinions and recent reports related to this new disease. Experts from a large Brazilian public university analyzed all recently published material to produce a report aiming to standardize the care of critically ill children and adolescents. The report emphasizes on the clinical presentations of the disease and ventilatory support in pediatric patients with COVID-19. It establishes a flowchart to guide health practitioners on triaging critical cases. COVID-19 is essentially an unknown clinical condition for the majority of pediatric intensive care professionals. Guidelines developed by experts can help all practitioners standardize their attitudes and improve the treatment of COVID-19.

Limitación de tratamiento de soporte vital en una Unidad de Cuidado Intensivo pediátrica chilena: 2004-2014 / Limitation of Vital Support in a Chilean Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: 2004-2014

Resumen Objetivo: Describir las frecuencias y características del proceso de Limitación de Tratamiento de So porte Vital (LTSV) en pacientes de la Unidad de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos (UCI) entre 2004 2014. Pacientes y Método: Estudio retrospectivo, observacional descriptivo a partir de dos registros de la UCI del Hospital Roberto del Río: 1) ficha clínica individual de seguimiento y 2) ficha de registro de indicadores de calidad incluida LTSV, ambos actualizados diariamente al iniciar la visita clínica. Desde estos registros se analizaron los casos con dilemas bioéticos en los que se propuso LTSV du rante su hospitalización en UCI ("LTSV intra-UCI"). Se menciona la población rechazada de ingresar a UCI ("LTSV pre-UCI") y los fallecidos con LTSV en cama básica. Resultados: De 7.821 ingresos a UCI en el 1,51% (118 pacientes) se establece una LTSV: ONI (Orden de No Innovación) en 78,8% de los casos, retiro de medidas terapéuticas en 14,4% y suspensión de ventilación mecánica en 6,8%. En 23,7% el diagnóstico de base fue neurológico u oncológico, para cada uno. La condición fisiopatológica predominante para una LTSV fue neurológica (39%). El tiempo de estadía en UCI triplica el promedio de estada de los egresos totales de UCI, pero es de amplia variabilidad. Conclusiones: Es factible realizar una LTSV en UCI cuando el equipo incorpora esta perspectiva al trabajo diario junto a la familia. Hay una amplia variabilidad individual en las características del proceso de LTSV, propio del ámbito de la ética clínica.

Abstract Objective: Describe the frequency and characteristics of PICU patients who undergo a process of withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment (LTSV), between 2004 y 2014. Patients and Method: A retrospective, observational descriptive study, using two documents for quality assessment in the PICU of Hospital Roberto del Río: 1) daily individual patient tracking log and 2) daily record of quality indicators, including LTSV, both updated daily at the morning visit. All PICU patients with an ethical dilemma during their PICU stay in which a LTSV was proposed were included. We men tion patients rejected for admission in the ICU and those who died in basic units of the hospital with LTSV. Results: In 118 patients of 7821 PICU admissions (1,5%) we determined a LTSV: ONR (Non Resuscitation Order) for all of them, ONI (Non Innovation Order) in 78,8%, withdrawal of some therapeutics in 14,4% and withdrawal of active mechanical ventilation in 6,8%. The basic diagnosis was 23,7% for each neurologic and oncologic diseases. The predominant pathophysiologic condition leading to a LTSV was severe chronic neurologic damage (39%). The length of stay was threefold the mean PICU stay, with a large variability due to expectable individual factors when ethic decisions are involved. Conclusion: LTSV is feasible when the team is involved and this perspective is part of daily clinical analysis. The wide individual variability in the LTSV process is expectable in ethical decisions.