Pediatr Crit Care Me
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2015
Early Head CT Findings Are Associated With Outcomes After Pediatric Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest.
Head CT after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is often obtained to evaluate intracranial pathology. Among children admitted to the PICU following pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, we hypothesized that loss of gray-white matter differentiation and basilar cistern and sulcal effacement are associated with mortality and unfavorable neurologic outcome. ⋯ Loss of gray-white matter differentiation and basilar cistern effacement and sulcal effacement are associated with poor outcome after pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Select patients may have favorable outcomes despite these findings.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2015
A Case-Control Study on the Impact of Ventilator-Associated Tracheobronchitis in the PICU.
Hospital-acquired infections increase morbidity, mortality, and charges in the PICU. We implemented a quality improvement bundle directed at ventilator-associated pneumonia in our PICU in 2005. We observed an increase in ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis coincident with the near-elimination of ventilator-associated pneumonia. The impact of ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis on critically ill children has not been previously described. Accordingly, we hypothesized that ventilator-associated tracheobronchitisis associated with increased length of stay, mortality, and hospital charge. ⋯ Ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis is a clinically significant hospital-acquired infection in the PICU and is associated with longer duration of mechanical ventilation and healthcare costs, possibly through causing a longer PICU length of stay. Quality improvement efforts should be directed at reducing the incidence of ventilator-associated tracheobronchitis in the PICU.
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Pediatr Crit Care Me · Jul 2015
Impact of Kidney Disease on Survival in Neonatal Extracorporeal Life Support.
To investigate the prevalence and survival to discharge of neonates with kidney disease who received extracorporeal life support. ⋯ Neonates with kidney disease who receive extracorporeal life support have poorer survival to discharge compared with other neonates who receive extracorporeal life support, suggesting that kidney disease should be considered when making extracorporeal life support initiation decisions.
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Acute kidney injury in adult patients with acute decompensated heart failure is associated with increased mortality. There is limited literature in pediatric patients with acute decompensated heart failure and acute kidney injury. We aim to study acute kidney injury in the pediatric acute decompensated heart failure population and its association with specific outcomes. ⋯ Acute kidney injury is common during the initial presentation of pediatric patients with acute decompensated heart failure. A left ventricular ejection fraction up to 25% is associated with acute kidney injury. The presence of acute kidney injury in this population is significantly associated with cardiac transplantation and/or death.