RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Measuring outcome in pediatric intensive care is necessary to equate the high cost of treatment with benefits to the patient. Although mortality rates and morbidity are relatively insensitive measures of the benefits of treatment, quality of life measurement gives insight into the long-term outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term quality of life outcome of children admitted to a pediatric intensive care unit. DESIGN: Prospective survey. SETTING: A 13-bed pediatric intensive care unit in a university-affiliated, tertiary referral children's hospital. PATIENTS: Patients were 432 children discharged from the pediatric intensive care unit between May 1992 and April 1994. INTERVENTIONS: Quality of life was measured by using the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children Measure of Function. The scale has two components, the first part completed by the clinician after parent interview and the second part completed separately by the parent. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Parents of 432 children were contacted between 3 and 24 months after discharge. Twenty-seven children (6.3%) had died after discharge from the pediatric intensive care unit; 59.3% (256) had scores indicating a normal quality of life, and 32.4% (140) had a fair quality of life with ongoing health, social, or cognitive problems requiring some intervention. Two percent of survivors (nine children) had scores indicating a poor quality of life as they had continued to experience significant or disabling health problems requiring hospitalization or the equivalent. Predictors of poor quality of life included presence of comorbidities, increased length of stay, and a diagnostic category of malignancy. Diagnostic categories of respiratory, trauma, and cardiac dysfunction were associated with a better outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the long-term outcome in terms of quality of life after admission to a pediatric intensive care unit is good or normal for the majority of surviving children. Those children with a poor outcome are likely to have significant comorbidities or a diagnosis of malignancy.
