Sixth-Hour Trancutaneous Bilirubin and Need for Phototherapy in DAT Positive Newborns.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the outcomes of ABO incompatible direct antiglobulin test (DAT) positive newborns and determine the predictive ability of a sixth-hour transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB for needing phototherapy ≤24 hours of age. METHODS: Retrospective, cross-sectional study from May 2013 to March 2017. Of 10 942 consecutive newborns ≥35 weeks estimated gestational age, 829 were ABO incompatible and DAT positive. After excluding for antibodies other than ABO (51), missing data (4), miscategorization of blood type O (1), and duplicate record (1), 772 newborns remained. Of 772, a subsample of 346 newborns with both TcB and total serum bilirubin (TSB) tests within 1 hour of the sixth hour was analyzed to determine the predictive ability. RESULTS: Phototherapy was required in 281 of 772 (36.4%); 156 (20.2%) in the first 24 hours. There were 10 (1.3%) admissions for hyperbilirubinemia to the NICU for intravenous immunoglobin. Birth weight, infant blood type B, TSB, reticulocyte count, and TcB were all significantly associated with phototherapy ≤24 hours. On multivariate analysis, significant predictors of phototherapy ≤24 hours were TSB and reticulocyte count if no TcB was done and TcB alone if no blood tests were done. TcB was highly predictive (odds ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval: 2.4-4.0) and nearly as accurate as the TSB and reticulocyte count (area under the curve, 0.90 and 0.96, respectively). Low (<3.0 mg/dL) and high (≥5.3 mg/dL) risk TcB cutoffs demonstrated a negative predictive value of 98% and positive predictive value of 85%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among high-risk ABO incompatible DAT positive newborns, the sixth-hour TcB is highly predictive of the need for phototherapy ≤24 hours.

Underweight Status Is an Independent Predictor of In-Hospital Mortality in Pediatric Patients on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is associated with an increased risk of mortality in patients admitted to the intensive care unit. Children requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support represent an extremely ill subset of this population. There is a lack of data on the impact of nutrition state on survival in this cohort. We examined the association between being underweight and in-hospital mortality among children supported with ECMO. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This article reports on an observational retrospective cohort study performed among neonatal and pediatric patients supported with ECMO in a tertiary children's hospital from May 1996 through June 2013. Nutrition status on intensive care unit admission was defined with z scores on weight for length and body mass index. RESULTS: Patients (N = 491) had a median age of 31 days (interquartile range, 2-771): 24.4% were underweight, and 8.9% were obese. During ECMO support, 88.3% received total parenteral nutrition, and 30.3% received enteral nutrition. Median maximum energy intake while receiving ECMO was 82 kcal/kg/d (interquartile range, 54.7-105). Multiple logistic regression showed that underweight status was associated with increased predicted odds of in-hospital mortality when compared with normal weight (odds ratio: 1.99, 95% confidence interval: 1.21-3.25, P = .006). Other factors associated with increased odds of mortality included extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the need for continuous renal replacement therapy. CONCLUSION: Underweight status was an independent predictor for in-hospital mortality in our cohort of pediatric ECMO patients. Prospective studies evaluating the impact of metabolic state of children on ECMO should further define this relationship.

The use of pulmonary clearance medications in the acutely ill patient.

INTRODUCTION: Retention of airway secretions occurs in disease, leading to airway plugging, atelectasis, and worsened respiratory mechanics, making airway clearance an important therapeutic target. Areas covered: Many medications designed to enhance clearance of airway secretions are available. We will review the medications available to enhance airway clearance, their mechanisms of action, and the evidence available for their use in acutely ill patients. Expert commentary: In the cystic fibrosis (CF) population, beneficial effects have been shown in pulmonary function with the use of some of these agents. In the non-CF population, there is limited evidence regarding these medications. While some studies have found benefit, the quality of evidence is low, making it difficult to draw conclusions. While certain patients may derive benefit, the general use of these medications in acutely ill patients without CF cannot be recommended at this time.

Use of continuous renal replacement therapy in salicylate toxicity: A case report and review of the literature.

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of salicylate toxicity treated with continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) and review the literature regarding the use of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for salicylate toxicity. CASE: A 16-year-old male presented after ingesting 1901 mg/kg of enteric coated aspirin. Salicylate level was 92 mg/dl 4 h after ingestion. Sequele included seizure, acute kidney injury, pulmonary edema, and prolonged QTc. He received 5.5 h of hemodialysis followed by CVVHDF to continue to augment clearance. His aspirin level fell to 37.4 mg/dl after HD and then to 11.3 mg/dl after nearly 10 h of CVVHDF. DISCUSSION: Cited reasons for the use of CRRT for salicylate toxicity primarily have been hypotension or desire for ongoing augmentation of salicylate clearance in the setting of multiorgan toxicity. CVVHDF may have a role in severe salicylate toxicity to enhance ongoing clearance after an initial round of HD in order to prevent significant rebound.

Drug hypersensitivity causing organizing eosinophilic pneumonia in a pediatric patient.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a relatively rare hypersentivity reaction with pulmonary manifestations in a pediatric patient. DATA SOURCES: Electronic medical records. STUDY SELECTION: Patient treatment in the pediatric critical care unit. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Electronic medical records. CONCLUSIONS: Eosinophilic pneumonias are rare in the pediatric population. Peripheral eosinophilia is not necessary to make the diagnosis. Bronchoalveolar lavage is the diagnostic study of choice. Lung biopsies are rarely needed to make the diagnosis. The treatment of choice is steroids. If steroids fail to improve the patient's condition, consider IVIG, and cyclosporine A.

Blood cell exchange in the treatment of exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis in a patient with sickle cell trait.

We report the use of red blood cell exchange (RBCex) to treat rhabdomyolysis complicated by acute kidney injury in a 16-year-old African-American female with sickle cell trait (SCT). Treatment with aggressive fluid and electrolyte management failed to stem the rise in her creatine kinase, and RBCex was instituted 27 hours after symptom onset. She had a transient improvement in her creatine kinase following this treatment although it failed to resolve a developing lower extremity compartment syndrome, requiring bilateral lower extremity fasciotomies. The mechanism of exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis in individuals with SCT is theorized to result from localized hypoxia and acidosis within exercising muscle significant enough to cause a localized sickling crisis with resultant rhabdomyolysis. Despite the unique pathophysiology of rhabdomyolysis in individuals with SCT, there is a paucity of adjunctive treatment options beyond fluid and electrolyte therapy. To the best of our knowledge, RBCex for treatment of rhabdomyolysis in a patient with SCT has been described only once before by Huang et al. We report here a second case in the use of RBCex in the treatment of rhadbomyolysis in a patient with SCT.