Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2009
Outcomes of critically ill children requiring continuous renal replacement therapy.
Acute kidney injury in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is associated with significant morbidity, with continued mortality greater than 50%. Previous studies have described an association between percentage of fluid overload (%FO) less than 20% and improved survival. We reviewed our continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) experience to evaluate for factors associated with mortality as well as secondary outcomes. ⋯ For patients with acute kidney injury who require CRRT, the presence of sepsis, MODS, and FO greater than 20% at the time of CRRT initiation are significantly associated with higher mortality. In addition, we report that duration of mechanical ventilation, PICU stay, hospitalization, and time to renal recovery were all significantly prolonged for survivors who had FO greater than 20%.
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Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is difficult to diagnose. Recent data suggest quantitative endotracheal aspirate (ETA) may be noninferior diagnostically to quantitative bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). We hypothesized this would be the case. ⋯ Quantitative BAL is safe and has greater diagnostic utility than ETA for VAP facilitates de-escalation. This study provides support for quantitative BAL in VAP diagnosis.
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Journal of critical care · Sep 2009
Patterns and prognostic value of troponin, interleukin-6, and leptin after pediatric open-heart surgery.
Leptin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are inversely correlated and associated with decreased survival in critically ill patients. We investigated changes in leptin, IL-6, and troponin in children undergoing open-heart surgery, hypothesizing that IL-6 and troponin will increase after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and will be negatively correlated with leptin. ⋯ Lower leptin and higher IL-6 levels correlated with troponin, a marker of myocardial injury. Because leptin may have cardioprotective effects, the postoperative drop in its levels may further contribute to myocardial dysfunction.