Plasma Antioxidant Potential at Admission is Associated with Length of ICU Stay in Child with Sepsis: A Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relationship between biomarkers of oxidative stress (OS) and the length of stay in intensive care units (LSICU) in septic children. METHODS: Clinical parameters and biomarkers of OS were measured in 16 children admitted for sepsis in an intensive care unit. The associations between biomarkers of OS and the LSICU were assessed by linear correlation. Multiple linear regression models were constructed to adjust other variables. RESULTS: The mean of LSICU was 7.13 ± 4.17 days. LSICU was associated with the catalase activity (rho =0.56, p-value =0.024) and the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP, r = 0.73, p-value =0.001). However, only FRAP at ICU admission was independently associated with LSICU, which rose 0.21 days for each 10 µmol/l of increase in the FRAP level. CONCLUSION: We conclude for first time that FRAP level at ICU admission is independently associated with LSICU in pediatric patients.

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.

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

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.

Oxidative stress biomarkers in pediatric sepsis: a prospective observational pilot study.

OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is known to participate in the progression of sepsis. Definite data regarding the behavior of oxidative stress biomarkers in pediatric sepsis is still lacking. This study hypothesized that oxidative stress occurs in pediatric sepsis and that the magnitude of the redox derangement is associated with worse clinical progression. METHODS: Forty-two previously healthy pediatric patients with sepsis and a group of control subjects were included. Oxidative stress and inflammatory activity biomarkers were determined in blood samples. Patients were prospectively followed until their discharge or death. RESULTS: Patients with non-severe and severe sepsis showed higher levels of plasmatic antioxidant capacity, lower erythrocyte thiol index, lower superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, higher glutathione peroxidase activity, and higher plasmatic F2-isoprostanes concentration than controls. Patients with severe sepsis had higher NF-kappaB activation than those with non-severe sepsis. Although we observed changes in some biomarkers in patients with worse clinical evolution, the explored biomarkers did not correlate with clinical estimators of outcome. DISCUSSION: Oxidative stress occurs in pediatric sepsis, resulting in oxidative damage. The explored biomarkers are not useful as outcome predictors in the studied population. The behavior of these biomarkers still needs to be addressed in broader groups of pediatric patients with sepsis.

Potential effectiveness of copper surfaces in reducing health care-associated infection rates in a pediatric intensive and intermediate care unit: A nonrandomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Studies have consistently shown that copper alloyed surfaces decrease the burden of microorganisms in health care environments. This study assessed whether copper alloy surfaces decreased hospital-associated infections in pediatric intensive and intermediate care units. METHODS: Admitted infants were assigned sequentially to a room furnished with or without a limited number of copper alloyed surfaces. Clinical and exposure to intervention data were collected on a daily basis. To avoid counting infections present prior to admission, patients who stayed in the hospital <72 hours were excluded from analysis. Health care-associated infections (HAIs) were confirmed according to protocol definitions. RESULTS: Clinical outcomes from 515 patients were considered in our analysis: 261 patients from the intervention arm of the study, and 254 from the control arm. Crude analysis showed an HAI rate of 10.6 versus 13.0 per 1,000 patient days for copper- and non-copper-exposed patients, respectively, for a crude relative risk reduction (RRR) of 0.19 (90% confidence interval, 0.46 to -0.22). Conducting clinical trials to assess interventions that may impact HAI rates is very challenging. The results here contribute to our understanding and ability to estimate the effect size that copper alloy surfaces have on HAI acquisition. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure of pediatric patients to copper-surfaced objects in the closed environment of the intensive care unit resulted in decreased HAI rates when compared with noncopper exposure; however, the RRR was not statistically significant. The clinical effect size warrants further consideration of this intervention as a component of a systems-based approach to control HAIs.

Copper surfaces are associated with significantly lower concentrations of bacteria on selected surfaces within a pediatric intensive care unit.

BACKGROUND: Health care-associated infections result in significant patient morbidity and mortality. Although cleaning can remove pathogens present on hospital surfaces, those surfaces may be inadequately cleaned or recontaminated within minutes. Because of copper's inherent and continuous antimicrobial properties, copper surfaces offer a solution to complement cleaning. The objective of this study was to quantitatively assess the bacterial microbial burden coincident with an assessment of the ability of antimicrobial copper to limit the microbial burden associated with 3 surfaces in a pediatric intensive care unit. METHODS: A pragmatic trial was conducted enrolling 1,012 patients from 2 high acuity care units within a 249-bed tertiary care pediatric hospital over 12 months. The microbial burden was determined from 3 frequently encountered surfaces, regardless of room occupancy, twice monthly, from 16 rooms, 8 outfitted normally and 8 outfitted with antimicrobial copper. RESULTS: Copper surfaces were found to be equivalently antimicrobial in pediatric settings to activities reported for adult medical intensive care units. The log10 reduction to the microbial burden from antimicrobial copper surfaced bed rails was 1.996 (99%). Surprisingly, introduction of copper objects to 8 study rooms was found to suppress the microbial burden recovered from objects assessed in control rooms by log10 of 1.863 (73%). CONCLUSION: Copper surfaces warrant serious consideration when contemplating the introduction of no-touch disinfection technologies for reducing burden to limit acquisition of HAIs.

Mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care units during the season for acute lower respiratory infection: a multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics and outcomes of mechanical ventilation in pediatric intensive care units during the season of acute lower respiratory infections. DESIGN: Prospective cohort of infants and children receiving mechanical ventilation for at least 12 hrs. SETTING: Sixty medical-surgical pediatric intensive care units. PATIENTS: All consecutive patients admitted to participating pediatric intensive care units during a 28-day period. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Of 2,156 patients admitted to pediatric intensive care units, 1185 (55%) received mechanical ventilation for a median of 5 days (interquartile range 2-8). Median age was 7 months (interquartile range 2-25). Main indications for mechanical ventilation were acute respiratory failure in 78% of the patients, altered mental status in 15%, and acute on chronic pulmonary disease in 6%. Median length of stay in the pediatric intensive care units was 10 days (interquartile range 6-18). Overall mortality rate in pediatric intensive care units was 13% (95% confidence interval: 11-15) for the entire population, and 39% (95% confidence interval: 23 - 58) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome. Of 1150 attempts at liberation from mechanical ventilation, 62% (95% confidence interval: 60-65) used the spontaneous breathing trial, and 37% (95% confidence interval: 35-40) used gradual reduction of ventilatory support. Noninvasive mechanical ventilation was used initially in 173 patients (15%, 95% confidence interval: 13-17). CONCLUSION: In the season of acute lower respiratory infections, one of every two children admitted to pediatric intensive care units requires mechanical ventilation. Acute respiratory failure was the most common reason for mechanical ventilation. The spontaneous breathing trial was the most commonly used method for liberation from mechanical ventilation.

Postmortem studies in the contemporary pediatric intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the implementation of an educational program that achieved high compliance with autopsy requests and consents in a pediatric intensive care unit. To evaluate the concordance between clinical diagnoses and autopsy findings and to identify patient characteristics in which postmortem diagnosis elucidated the primary disease process. DESIGN: Retrospective, observational study. SETTING: A pediatric intensive care unit in a tertiary care teaching hospital. PATIENTS: All pediatric intensive care unit patients with autopsy reports from 2000 to 2005. INTERVENTIONS: An educational program and protocol were initiated in 1995-1996 to raise awareness and formalize the process for autopsy request. From 2000 to 2005, data were collected from medical records and pathology department autopsy reports. Premortem and postmortem diagnoses were compared utilizing the modified Goldman's classification. The associations of Goldman's classification with age of patients and length of stay were explored. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: After the educational program was instituted, an autopsy rate of >50% was attained compared to 20%-30% in previous years (p < .05). From 2000 to 2005, 139 autopsies were performed. In 111 patients (79.8%), complete concordance of premortem and postmortem diagnoses was found; in 22 cases (16%), there was no concordance and in six cases the postmortem studies failed to explain the mechanism of death. Autopsies provided new and pertinent findings in 47.5% of all studies, with histologic information accounting for 58% of them. A relationship between short length of stay and the presence of autopsy findings elucidating the main disease process was found (p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: It is feasible to produce a sustainable increase in the rate of postmortem studies within an organization. Autopsy results added new information to almost half of the patients, particularly those who died soon after admission. A pediatric intensive care unit strategy to increase and maintain compliance with autopsy requests is an important practice with favorable clinical and educational repercussions.

Oxidative stress as a novel target in pediatric sepsis management.

Sepsis with secondary multisystem organ dysfunction syndrome is the leading cause of death in the pediatric intensive care unit. Increased reactive oxygen species may influence circulating and endothelial cells, contributing to inflammatory tissue injury and explaining the tissue hypoxia paradigm based on microvascular dysfunction. An impaired mitochondrial cellular oxygen utilization, rather than inadequate oxygen delivery, was claimed to play a more important role in the development of multisystem organ dysfunction syndrome. Anyway, it seems plausible that reactive oxygen species can mediate the pathophysiologic processes occurring in sepsis. However, the consensus guidelines for the management of patients with these conditions do not include the enhancement of antioxidant potential. Therefore, further investigation is needed to support interventions aimed to attenuate the severity of the systemic compromise by abrogating the mechanism of oxidative damage. Antioxidant supplementation currently in use lacks a mechanistic support. Specific pharmacologic targets, such as mitochondria or Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Phosphate-Oxidase (NADPH) oxidase system, need to be explored. Furthermore, the early recognition of oxidative damage in these seriously ill patients and the usefulness of oxidative stress biomarkers to define a cut point for more successful therapeutic antioxidant interventions to be instituted would offer a new strategy to improve the outcome of critically ill children.

Clinical practice parameters for hemodynamic support of pediatric and neonatal septic shock: 2007 update from the American College of Critical Care Medicine.

BACKGROUND: The Institute of Medicine calls for the use of clinical guidelines and practice parameters to promote "best practices" and to improve patient outcomes. OBJECTIVE: 2007 update of the 2002 American College of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Guidelines for Hemodynamic Support of Neonates and Children with Septic Shock. PARTICIPANTS: Society of Critical Care Medicine members with special interest in neonatal and pediatric septic shock were identified from general solicitation at the Society of Critical Care Medicine Educational and Scientific Symposia (2001-2006). METHODS: The Pubmed/MEDLINE literature database (1966-2006) was searched using the keywords and phrases: sepsis, septicemia, septic shock, endotoxemia, persistent pulmonary hypertension, nitric oxide, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), and American College of Critical Care Medicine guidelines. Best practice centers that reported best outcomes were identified and their practices examined as models of care. Using a modified Delphi method, 30 experts graded new literature. Over 30 additional experts then reviewed the updated recommendations. The document was subsequently modified until there was greater than 90% expert consensus. RESULTS: The 2002 guidelines were widely disseminated, translated into Spanish and Portuguese, and incorporated into Society of Critical Care Medicine and AHA sanctioned recommendations. Centers that implemented the 2002 guidelines reported best practice outcomes (hospital mortality 1%-3% in previously healthy, and 7%-10% in chronically ill children). Early use of 2002 guidelines was associated with improved outcome in the community hospital emergency department (number needed to treat = 3.3) and tertiary pediatric intensive care setting (number needed to treat = 3.6); every hour that went by without guideline adherence was associated with a 1.4-fold increased mortality risk. The updated 2007 guidelines continue to recognize an increased likelihood that children with septic shock, compared with adults, require 1) proportionally larger quantities of fluid, 2) inotrope and vasodilator therapies, 3) hydrocortisone for absolute adrenal insufficiency, and 4) ECMO for refractory shock. The major new recommendation in the 2007 update is earlier use of inotrope support through peripheral access until central access is attained. CONCLUSION: The 2007 update continues to emphasize early use of age-specific therapies to attain time-sensitive goals, specifically recommending 1) first hour fluid resuscitation and inotrope therapy directed to goals of threshold heart rates, normal blood pressure, and capillary refill 70% and cardiac index 3.3-6.0 L/min/m.